In Reply To: 1400-800 (933.CR) P EMAIL TRANSMISSION – 10/24/2006 Information Bulletin No. MT-2007-003 To: All Montana/Dakotas Employees From: Deputy State Director, Division of Support Services Subject: Federal Employees Dental and Vision Program (FEDVIP) Open Season The U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM) has awarded contracts to insurance carriers to offer supplemental dental and vision benefits under the new FEDVIP. Aetna Life Insurance Company, Government Employees Hospital Association, Inc. (GEHA), MetLife Inc., United Concordia Companies, Inc., Group Health, Inc., CompBenefits, and Triple-S, Inc., will offer dental benefits. BlueCross BlueShield Association, Spectera, Inc., and Vision Service Plan (VSP) will offer vision benefits. The FEDVIP open season will be from November 13 through December 31, 2006. ENROLLMENT Three types of enrollment are available under FEDVIP: self only, self plus one, and self and family. Employees who are eligible for Federal Employees Health Benefits (FEHB) are eligible to enroll in FEDVIP. However, employees do not have to be enrolled in FEHB to elect FEDVIP. There are three ways for eligible employees to enroll in FEDVIP. 1. Through the website at www.BENEFEDS.com (website is not available until open season begins). 2. By telephone at 1-877-888-3337, (TTY 1-877-889-5680) to have a BENEFEDS customer service representative enroll you over the phone. 3. In the very rare situation when you do not have access to a computer AND you do not have access to a telephone during the BENEFEDS hours of operation (*see hours of operation below), you can mail a paper enrollment form to BENEFEDS for processing. If you fit these limited requirements, contact MT-933 to request a paper form. *The BENEFEDS phone representatives can be reached by phone during the following hours: Open Season 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Friday 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Saturday and Sunday during the last weekend of Open Season (December 9 and 10) Non-Open Season 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. 2 FEDVIP VERSUS FEHB: WHAT IS DIFFERENT? It is important to understand that FEDVIP and FEHB are entirely separate programs. Some FEHB plans will continue to offer coverage of some dental and vision services. Some also offer non-FEHB dental and vision services. FEDVIP provides supplemental dental and vision insurance coverage. Some carriers participate in both FEHB and FEDVIP. Employees eligible to enroll in both programs can choose to enroll in FEHB only, FEDVIP only, both, or neither. Attachment 1 is a chart that highlights some of the differences between FEHB and FEDVIP. PREMIUMS Deductions will be on a pre-tax basis. Coverage will be effective this open season on December 31, 2006, even though premium deductions will not begin until January 7, 2006 (pay period 0703). Rating areas: For dental plans, premiums are determined based on where you live. This is called a rating area. A chart with the rating areas for each plan is available on the FEDVIP website. When you call or visit www.BENEFEDS.com to enroll in a dental plan, BENEFEDS will provide you only the plans and premiums available based on your zip code. Vision plans do not have separate rating areas as they each charge a nationwide rate. Coordination of Benefits: Some FEHB plans already cover some dental and vision services. In that case, the FEHB plan will be the first payor of any benefits. More information is available at www.opm.gov/insure/dentalvision. If you have any questions regarding this memorandum, please contact Connie Raynock, Verlaine Van Atta, or Cheri Diaz, Human Resources Assistants, in MT-933, at (406) 896-5229/5233/5226 respectively. Signed by: Sandra C. Berain Authenticated by: Jean Schaak (MT-933) 1 Attachment |
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