Benefits
2011-2012 Open Enrollment
Information on this year's Open Enrollment is now available. Please check out the 2011-2012 Open Enrollment website.
PCC currently provides Regence Blue Cross/Blue Shield health insurance plans as part of an insurance pool maintained by the Oregon School Board Association (OSBA). In 2007, the Oregon legislature created the Oregon Educators Benefits Board (OEBB) and mandated that all K-12 districts and Educational Service Districts obtain their employee insurance plans through the OEBB by fall 2010. Community Colleges are not included in the mandated group of employers, but may opt to join the OEBB. The OEBB has developed a package of health insurance plans and recently concluded a competitive process to select insurers who would provide those plans. Regence was not selected to be a plan provider through the OEBB.
As a result of the legislative mandate, employers previously insured through OSBA will begin making the change this fall. As K-12 and ESD’s move to the OEBB from coverage through OSBA, that significantly reduces plan enrollment through OSBA. OSBA has announced its intent to stop offering its plans, which will require the colleges participating in the pool to find other coverage. The intent of Regence’s letter was to assure K-12 employees that Regence will work to provide a smooth transition for those employees who are leaving OSBA to join the OEBB.
Meanwhile, the community colleges, as a group and individually, have been exploring other options. As a result, PCC has been working through the process of assessing all benefit options for our employees, retirees and former employees on COBRA. The Joint Committee on Insured Benefits (JCIB), a joint management and labor committee at PCC, has been working with the college’s benefits consultant to consider the options available. Those options may include insurance through the Oregon Community College Association (OCCA) or another pool, PCC contracting for insurance as an individual employer or joining the OEBB.
Since PCC is not mandated to make the change to OEBB, the effective date of any changes at PCC is not yet determined. Several key pieces of information – for example, plan rates for next year -- are not yet available, but are anticipated within the next few weeks.
We can tell you that a long-term change will be made. Rest assured, PCC’s interest is in minimizing any disruption to our employees and their families. You will continue as Regence members for at least the balance of this plan year (through September 30).
Specific information will be included in the open enrollment packets that will be mailed this summer. Until then, we will use the PCC Benefits website to keep you informed. Please be patient. Until a decision is made, there isn’t a lot of specific information to share.
Enrollment
For enrollment in medical, vision and dental insurance, you will need to enroll online in the OEBB system within the specified enrollment timeframe. For enrollment in other benefits, please see the sections below:
- New Enrollment:
- Newly hired employees should review this website, attend a monthly group benefits orientation and submit a benefit enrollment form soon after starting employment.
- Open Enrollment:
- Your annual opportunity to enroll or make changes to your current benefit plans.
- Mid-Year Changes:
- Certain qualifying events. such as the birth of a child, adoption, marriage, newly formed domestic partnership and a loss of other coverage may permit insurance enrollment.
Summary of Benefits
PCC offers a comprehensive benefit package designed to provide employees and their families, including domestic partners, with a broad range of employer and employee paid benefit options. For details on eligibility see below.
Health & Dental
- Medical, Prescription
- Dental
- Health Insurance Waiver
- Employee Assistance Program (EAP)*
- Long Term Care*
- COBRA
- Vision
Group Life & Disability
Retirement & Financial Matters
- Retirement*
- Oregon Savings Growth Plan, 457 Plan*
- Tax Deferred Annuity, 403(b) Plan*
- U.S. Savings Bonds
- Flexible Spending Accounts (FSA)*
- Credit Union Membership*
- Home Ownership Program*
- Homeowner and Auto Insurance*
- Home Mortgage Plan*
- Group Legal*
- Cash Award Program*
Leave/Time Off
- Vacation and Sick Leave* (refer to Contracts)
- Holidays, Personal Time & Emergency Leave
- Leave of Absence*
- Employee Leave Bank Program**
Tuition Assistance
College Facilities
- * Part-time Faculty inclusive
- ** Part-time and full-time Classified and Academic Professional only
- *** Not eligible to any part-time employee
Eligibility
- Full & part-time: Classified, Managerial, APs, Confidentials & full-time Faculty:
- eligible for the benefits listed above unless otherwise indicated.
- Part-time Faculty:
- eligible for Health Insurance Trust Fund, Group Medical Benefits (those who meet established eligibility criteria) and other benefits marked with single asterisk (*).
- Casual employees:
- Eligible for Retirement, Credit Union, and Home Ownership Program benefits.
Please refer to the HIPAA Privacy Notice for information on how medical information about you may be used and disclosed, and under what circumstances it is classified as protected information.
Frequently Asked Questions
- Who can I cover on my medical and dental insurance?
- You may cover your spouse or domestic partner (Certificate of Domestic Partnership required); your dependent children, stepchildren, and domestic partner's children (Certificate of Dependency may be required); adopted children (Certificate of Placement required); and other dependent children related to the subscriber (e.g., grandchildren) if the subscriber has legal custody (Certificate of Dependency and copy of guardianship papers required). Eligible dependent children may be covered until the end of the month in which they turn 26 years of age if they are attending school full-time, or living in the home of the eligible employee over six months of the calendar year, and the eligible retiree provides over half the yearly support. Parents and grandparents are not eligible for coverage.
- When can I change medical or dental insurance plans?
- You may change insurance plans during open enrollment only. Open enrollment is in the fall each year, with changes effective October 1st.
- When can I add or drop dependents to my medical or dental insurance?
- You may drop dependents at open enrollment or with a qualifying event (such as divorce or overage child). The change will become effective the first of the month following the qualifying event. You may add dependents when first enrolling in benefits as a new employee, during open enrollment, or within 31 days of a qualifying event, (such as marriage, birth, adoption or loss of other coverage). You will need to complete a Benefit Enrollment form to add or drop dependents.
- When can I add other benefits?
- You may enroll when first eligible as a newly benefited employee. You may apply for optional life insurance and/or long term care insurance anytime, but you will need to submit evidence of insurability information for consideration. You may enroll in the flexible spending account program for the upcoming year by the mid-December deadline, or with a qualified status change. You may enroll anytime in pre-paid legal, employee mortgage program, OnPoint Community Credit Union, MetPay (group auto, homeowners, renters insurance), savings bonds, tax deferred annuity plan (403b) and Oregon Savings Growth Plan (457).
- When will my benefits become effective?
- Your benefits become effective the first of the month after you have been in a benefits eligible position for 30 days. Example: A full-time faculty employee hired August 15th will be eligible for benefits effective October 1st. Part-time benefited employees must be paid for 32 hours in a pay period to maintain eligibility, and full-time benefited employees must be paid for 80 hours in a pay period. Once an employee works less than the number of hours needed to maintain eligibility, they may continue their insurance on a self-pay basis through COBRA.
- Where do I send my Benefit Enrollment Form?
- Send your completed Benefit Enrollment form to Human Resources - Employee Benefits at either Downtown Center 321 or Portland Community College, P.O. Box 19000, Portland, OR 97280-0990. Please be sure to sign and date the form; list yourself and all of your dependents you wish to cover, along with each persons gender, birth date and social security number; and check off which medical and dental plan you want. If you are adding coverage for yourself or dependents due to loss of other coverage, you must also fill in the previous coverage information as well as submit a letter from the previous insurer stating who was covered on the medical plan and the date that the coverage ended.