Cash Option Enrollments Reenrollments

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The FlexElect Open Enrollment Period is usually in September and October. The specific open enrollment period dates will be communicated to departments prior to the beginning of the open enrollment period. Employees must sign and submit their FlexElect documents, including HBD-'s and STD. 's to their Personnel Office no later than the last day of the open enrollment period. The effective date of any action during open enrollment is January , of the following year.
 
A memo that includes specific open enrollment information regarding cut-off dates for submission of FlexElect documents to SCO will be sent by CalHR to departments prior to the beginning of the FlexElect Open Enrollment phone number library Period. In cases where FlexElect Open Enrollment forms are not submitted by the prescribed deadlines, departmental Personnel Offices may wish to submit an enrollment appeal to CalHR. Please see Section , Enrollment Appeal Process, for information regarding the "Enrollment Appeal Process.


 
 Medical and/or Dependent Care Reimbursement Accounts

To enroll in the Medical and/or Dependent Care Reimbursement Accounts, employees must complete a Reimbursement Account Enrollment Authorization (STD. R). If employees enroll in the Medical and/or Dependent Care Reimbursement Accounts, they must reenroll into FlexElect every year they wish to participate by completing a Reimbursement Account Enrollment Authorization (STD. R) during the annual FlexElect Open Enrollment Period. For employees who are enrolling/reenrolling into the Medical Reimbursement Account (MRA), departments are required to provide each MRA participant with an Initial COBRA Notification at the commencement of their coverage. Please see Section of this manual for additional information regarding COBRA.
 
Employees, except permanent intermittent (PI) employees, currently enrolled in the Cash Option will be automatically reenrolled into the Cash Option for the next FlexElect Plan Year. It is not necessary for these employees to complete a Cash Option Enrollment Authorization (STD. C) during the open enrollment period, unless they wish to cancel or change their Cash Option enrollment.
 
 Exception to Automatic Reenrollment

PI employees must reenroll each FlexElect Open Enrollment Period in order to receive the Cash Option. The automatic enrollment continuation does not apply to PIs because part of their eligibility requires completion of a specific number of work hours each plan year and a separate payment process. For more information please see PI Eligibility for Cash Option in Section , Permanent-Intermittent (PI) Enrollment.
 
 New enrollments

Employees who are not currently enrolled in the Cash Option, and wish to enroll for the following FlexElect Plan Year, must complete a Cash Option Enrollment Authorization (STD. C) during the current FlexElect Open Enrollment Period. After initially enrolling in the Cash Option, enrollment will automatically continue in future plan years. In order to cancel or change a Cash Option enrollment due to a change in status event or during open enrollment, employees are required to complete a STD. C.
 
 Other forms and coordination between departments

If other enrollment forms (i.e. HBD-, or Health Benefit and Enrollment History page after confirmation from my|CalPERS, STD. , etc.) are also being submitted for the spouse/domestic partner of an employee, they must be coordinated and submitted as a package, along with the employee's FlexElect form. The department with the employee who is enrolling in FlexElect must assume the responsibility of coordinating all of the forms. If both employees enroll in FlexElect, one of the departments must assume responsibility for coordinating all of the forms. All forms should be reviewed by the Personnel Office to ensure they are completed accurately.
 
The FlexElect Open Enrollment Period allows FlexElect enrollees and their State-employed spouses/domestic partners to coordinate their health benefit enrollment. During the open enrollment period, both FlexElect enrollees, spouses, and domestic partners who maintain the traditional health coverage may change health plans.
 
All FlexElect open enrollment packages must be sent to SCO at the following address:

Corrections/Cancellations/Changes to Open Enrollment FlexElect Forms
After enrolling into FlexElect during the open period, employees are permitted to cancel or change their open enrollment election if done so prior to January of the plan year for which enrollment is requested. Please see Section , Correcting FlexElect Open Enrollment Documents for more information.
 
 Newly Eligible Enrollments

In order to enroll into FlexElect outside of the annual FlexElect Open Enrollment Period, employees must enroll as "newly eligible". Newly eligible enrollments have a Standard Effective Date, as described on the FlexElect Permitting Event Chart (Appendix A). Newly eligible employees must elect enrollment within days after becoming eligible and they must meet the eligibility criteria outlined in Section of this manual. Newly eligible employees are.

New State employees hired outside of the open enrollment period

Employees whose time base/employee designation changes from one that was not eligible to one that is eligible or a PI who changes to a permanent position with a time-base of half-time or more;
Employees who were on an approved leave of absence during the entire open enrollment period;
Employees, not currently enrolled in FlexElect, who experience a valid change in status event as defined in Appendix A. In addition, if the employee's change in status event results in a concurrent approved leave of absence (e.g. birth of child/maternity leave), the employee may enroll by the deadlines specified in the permitting event chart after the employee returns to work.