Open Enrollment for Active Employees » Open Enrollment Information
2010 Open Enrollment Information for Active Employees
8:00 a.m. November 2 through midnight on December 4, 2009
If you wish to continue medical coverage through the Laboratory’s benefits program for 2010, you MUST make an active selection of medical coverage during Open Enrollment. Your current medical elections will not carry through to 2010, and there is no default coverage – YOU MUST TAKE ACTION TO REMAIN IN MEDICAL COVERAGE!
How Do I Enroll or Make Changes?
- All employees with crypto-card access are required to enroll online through Oracle Self-Service.
- Employees without self-service access will receive a manual enrollment form via inter-office mail.
- Please see the Open Enrollment Windows for more information on when you can enroll.
What You Can Do During Open Enrollment
- Change to a different medical plan
- Cancel your medical, dental, vision, and/or group legal plan(s)
- Enroll in medical, dental, vision, and/or group legal plan(s) if you previously opted out
- Enroll eligible family members in your medical, dental, vision, and/or group legal plan(s)
- Cancel medical, dental, vision, and/or group legal plan(s) for currently enrolled family members
- Enroll or re-enroll in the healthcare reimbursement account (HCRA) *
- Enroll or re-enroll in the dependent daycare reimbursement account (DCRA) *
* Even if you are currently enrolled in HCRA and/or DCRA, you must re-enroll for 2010!
Open Enrollment changes will go into effect on January 1, 2010.
Open Enrollment Step-by-Step Process
1. Gather and Review Data
- Evaluate benefit offerings for 2010 and determine which plan(s) suit your needs.
- Carefully review the costs of each plan, including semi-monthly payroll deduction and out-of-pocket costs (deductibles, co-payments, coinsurance, etc.).
- Make sure all dependents meet eligibility guidelines for 2010 before you enroll them or allow enrollment to continue into the next plan year.
- Estimate out-of-pocket costs for eligible medical expenses for you and your dependents and enroll in the healthcare reimbursement account (HCRA) if you want to participate in 2010. *
- Determine the cost of daycare for eligible dependents and enroll in the dependent daycare flexible spending account (DCRA) if you want to participate in 2010. *
* Flexible spending account enrollment is a positive election and does not carry over from year to year. You must select a contribution amount for 2010 to participate, even if you are enrolled today.
2. Open Enrollment Webpage and ORACLE Self Service
Review information available on the open enrollment website
- Check your current enrollments;
- Enroll or make changes for open enrollment;
- Confirm your correct home address;
- Confirm Social Security Number(s) on file;
- Verify that your beneficiary designations are up-to-date;
- Note: If you don’t have access to a computer, or if you need assistance enrolling on-line, workstations are available at the LANL Benefits Office on the 2nd floor of the Otowi building, adjacent to the Badge Office.
Open enrollment transactions must be complete before midnight, Friday December 4, 2009. If you do not select a new medical plan for 2010 you will be defaulted to NO COVERAGE.
3. Confirm Your Elections
- You must ensure that your selection has been accepted.
- Please print out the confirmation page at the end of the enrollment process and keep it for your records.
- The Benefits Office will send confirmation statements in December. Please review your elections, covered dependents, and beneficiaries. Any corrections must be reported by January 31, 2010, or changes will not be allowed.
What You Can Do Outside of Open Enrollment
The Laboratory’s benefits plans are offered in accordance with regulations and requirements under Section 125 of the Internal Revenue Code. Reporting, non-discrimination and disclosure is governed under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA). Among other things, these provisions limit when an employee may enroll, modify, or cancel coverage under the benefit plan.
You may be able to change your benefit elections outside of open enrollment if you experience a qualified change of status. You must report the qualifying event to the Benefits Office within 31 days of its occurrence. For example, if you are married on May 1, you must report the event and make any changes within 31 days of that date (May 31). Changes must be consistent with the event (for example, you may add a spouse with a marriage event, or drop a spouse with a divorce event). For more information on changing coverage and qualifying events, see the LANL Health and Welfare Benefit Plan for Employees (pdf).
If you want to enroll in or increase your supplemental employee-paid life insurance or disability coverage, you may apply for this change through the statement of health process offered by The Hartford. Your application must be approved by The Hartford before the coverage is effective. You must notify the Benefits Office within 31 days of your application’s approval to finalize the change in coverage.
