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 When do benefits begin? |
Administrative/Professional staff and Faculty may begin medical and dental coverage on the first day of employment. The effective day of coverage may be adjusted to a later date based on a credible coverage letter from your previous employer. Medical and Dental premiums are paid a month in advance. Many new employees will experience two months of medical and dental premium deductions on their first paycheck.
Classified benefits begin on the first of the month following the date of hire. For example if you start February 1st, your benefits will start March 1st. Premiums for medical and dental insurance are paid in the month of coverage. |
| When must I enroll in benefits? |
A Human Resources representative will call you to schedule an orientation to review, select, and enroll in the benefit programs of your choice. Benefit summaries are located on the HR website at http://www.colostate-pueblo.edu/HR/Benefits . Administrative/Professional staff and faculty are required to attend this orientation. Failure to attend will result in default coverage being applied for those mandatory benefit plans and forfeiture of optional benefits. These defaults and forfeitures cannot be changed until the next regularly scheduled open enrollment. Administrative/Professional Staff and Faculty must enroll in Medical and Dental unless they have proof of other group insurance. Classified employees are required to attend orientation. Failure to attend orientation will result in the employee having no medical or dental coverage through the benefit plans offered by the State of Colorado. Coverage will not be available again until the next open enrollment period. |
| What Health plans are available? |
Administrative/Professional staff and Faculty have Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield as their health care provider. Two medical plan options are available. A summary of the plans can be found at http://www.colostate-pueblo.edu/HR/Benefits/ under the CHEIBA Insurance Plan Comparison. Classified employees are eligible for two plans under United Healthcare. The summary of each plan can be found on the state web site. Employees living in certain zip code areas are eligible for Kaiser. The list of eligible zip codes can be found on the Colorado State Government website and a summary of the Kaiser plan can be found here. |
| What Dental plans are available? |
Administrative/Professional staff and Faculty have Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield as their dental provider. Two dental plan options are available. A summary of the plans can be found in the CHEIBA summary booklet available on the web site at http://www.colostate-pueblo.edu/HR/Benefits/. Classified employees have a choice between two dental plans offered through Delta Dental. A summary of the plans is available here. |
| What do benefits cost? |
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| When can changes be made to benefits? |
Administrative/Professional staff and Faculty can make changes to their insurance elections during open enrollment in November and December. The benefit year begins January 1st and ends December 31st. Benefit changes made during open enrollment that result in a premium change for the new benefit year will be reflected in the December paychecks because benefits are prepaid. Classified staff can make changes during open enrollment beginning in the month of April. The benefit year begins July 1st and ends June 30th. Any employee who has a qualifying event or life change like a birth of child, marriage, divorce, loss of dependent or spouse, and/or spouse losses coverage during a plan year may make changes at that time without waiting for open enrollment. Employees have 30 days from the date of the qualifying event to make changes to their insurance. Please contact Human Resource as soon as you have a qualifying event or life change.
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| How do I know if a doctor or dentist is a participating provider in the medical/dental plans? |
Administrative/Professional staff and Faculty can view a current Anthem provider directory at http://www.anthem.com/. Classified employees can view a current provider directory for United Healthcare and Kaiser. The Delta Dental provider directory can be found here. |
| What does pre-tax and post-tax premium mean? |
You may choose to pay your medical and dental premiums on either a pre-tax or an after-tax basis. Simply put, pre-tax means that the premiums are deducted before the tax is calculated and deducted; after-tax means that premiums are deducted after the tax is calculated and deducted.
For more information about pre tax and post tax options, please see additional guidance on the state of Colorado web site. |
| How long can I cover my dependent children on the health and dental plans? |
Dependent children may be covered by the health and dental plans until the end of the month of their 25th birthday unless the dependent child is certified by a physician as disabled. |
| Is there a pre-existing condition limitation on the health plans? |
Administrative/Professional staff and Faculty PPO and Custom Plus medical plans do have a pre-existing condition limitation. Please see the CHEIBA Plan Summary comparison on the web site at http://www.colostate-pueblo.edu/HR/Benefits/. The Point of Service plan has no pre-existing condition limitation. The medical and dental benefit plans for classified staff do not have pre-existing limitations. |
| Is a vision plan available? |
Administrative/Professional staff and Faculty have vision benefits through Vision Service Plan (VSP). A summary of the plan can be found in the CHEIBA summary booklet available on the web site at http://www.colostate-pueblo.edu/HR/Benefits. Additional information and a provider directory are available on the VSP web site. Classified employees have vision benefits through their individual medical plan. Additional vision discounts are available through Delta Dental. Information about this discount program can be found here. |
| What happens to my benefits when I leave employment? |
The Consolidated Omnibus Reconciliation Act (COBRA) is a federal law offering you an opportunity to temporarily continue the same group benefits you had as an employee or an employee’s dependent at the time employment is terminated. The coverage in most cases extends for 18 months. COBRA is effective the day after your benefits or your dependents’ benefits terminate, pending the receipt of a timely election form and payment of premiums. Your Human Resources Representative will send you COBRA paperwork within 14 days of your termination of employment or when a covered dependent loses coverage under your plan. |
| What life insurance benefits are available? |
Administrative/Professional staff and Faculty must enroll in Basic Term Life and Accidental Death and Dismemberment coverage as a condition of employment. Employees may purchase additional life insurance and accidental death and dismemberment coverage. For plan specifics please view the CHEIBA Benefits Booklet on the website at http://www.colostate-pueblo.edu/HR/Benefits/. Classified employees have $50,000 of basic life and accidental death and dismemberment (AD&D) insurance coverage at no cost to the employee. Additional life insurance may be purchased, subject to approval by the insurance carrier, for the employee and spouse in increments on $10,000 to a maximum of $500,000. A spouse is eligible for 50% of the value of the employee’s optional life insurance coverage. Evidence of Insurability forms are required to be submitted to Minnesota Life Insurance for any increase in optional life insurance coverage during open enrollment. Employees may elect life insurance for their dependent children in the amount of $5,000 or $10,000 in coverage. |
| How do I update and/or change beneficiaries? |
Employees can update and/or change beneficiaries by contacting Human Resources. |
| What disability programs are available? |
Disability coverage helps replace a portion of your income if you become disabled due to a covered illness, pregnancy or injury. Administrative/Professional staff and Faculty are eligible for Long Term Disability coverage through Standard Insurance. The disabled employee must satisfy a 90 day waiting period before benefits are payable. The plan plays 66 2/3% of your pre-disability earnings or 70% of your pre-disability earnings, reduced by other deductible income. Administrative/Professional and Faculty staff do not have a Short-Term Disability benefit. Classified employees are automatically enrolled in the state Short-Term Disability (STD) program. The plan is provided by the State of Colorado at no cost to the employee, and pays up to 60% of an employee’s pre-disability income for up to 150 days following the required 30-day waiting period. Classified employees can purchase Long Term Disability coverage, pending insurance carrier approval. Premiums are determined by salary, age and PERA vesting status. After a six-month waiting period, benefits are payable up to 60% of your pre-disability earnings until age 65 (later in some cases) if you continue to meet plan requirements. LTD enrollment is NOT guaranteed. You MUST complete an Evidence of Insurability (EOI) form. Without EOI, no application can be approved. The EOI form must be submitted to Standard no later than 31 days after your Enrollment period. Otherwise, you will need to wait until the next Open Enrollment period to apply. The EOI (medical history statement) form is available at http://www.colostate-pueblo.edu/HR/Benefits. If you have at least five years of PERA covered employment, you may be eligible for PERA disability benefits. LTD Premiums for PERA-vested members are lower than for non-vested members. Please refer to the chart comparing PERA and State disability benefits available on the state web site. For information about PERA benefits, please call PERA directly at 1-800-759-7372.
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| What is a flexible spending account? |
Flexible Spending Accounts (FSAs) enable you to pay for certain eligible medical and dependent/day care expenses with pre-tax dollars. By lowering your taxable income, you can reduce your income tax liability.
Administrative/Professional staff and Faculty can set aside contributions for the following:
Health Care FSA Contributions: up to $5,000/year
Dependent Care FSA Contributions: up to $5,000/year
Classified employees can find more information about flexible spending benefits on the state web site. Classified employees can set aside contributions for the following:
Health Care FSA Contributions: $120 - $6,000/year
Dependent Care FSA Contributions: $120 - $5,000/year |