How to Enroll or Opt Out of Medical Benefits
All changes must be made in the MyOEBB online system. Even if you are opting out of medical benefits, you must fill out an online enrollment form.
Steps to Enroll or Opt Out
Selecting the best medical, vision and dental plans for you and your family can be challenging. Over time, both your personal circumstances and plan provisions may change. For that reason, employees are encouraged to review the current plan offerings, revisiting plan selection decisions previously made. This section offers some tips and guidance on things that may be important to you.
- Step 1) Review the College Contribution below
Jot down how much the college will be contributing towards your benefits.
- Step 2) Review the medical, vision and dental plans monthly premiums
Add the cost of the premiums for the plans you are considering and subtract the College Contribution (that you jotted down in Step 1.) Any amount left over will be deducted from your paycheck monthly.
You will bear a portion of the cost of your care. This may come in various forms, such as:
- paying a portion of the premiums
- paying a copayment at the doctors office
- paying coinsurance – your share of the bill (plan pays X%, patient pays Y%)
- paying for the full cost of the care until you have met the deductible
- paying for services where the billed amount is more than the health plan allows
Look at each of the plan choices in terms of how the cost is shared and what you think your medical care and financial needs will be.
- Step 3) Review the medical, vision and dental plans
As you look at the plans you see that they vary in terms of the choice you have in selecting physicians, clinics, hospitals and other providers. If you have strong preferences about providers, make sure the ones you want to use are within the provider network associated with the plan you choose.
There are differences in the plans regarding what they cover. Consider what plans are best for the treatments you prefer. If you have other coverage available, you may want to evaluate how complementary the plans are, if they duplicate services and how the benefits will be coordinated.
There may also be a difference between plans and providers in terms of service levels. Not all plans and not all providers are equal in terms of responsiveness to patient needs.
- Step 4) Attend an informational session
- Step 5) Fill out your online enrollment form
Opting out of PCC insurance
Full-time and part-time benefits eligible employees* can choose to opt out of medical, vision and dental coverage and receive an incentive payment of up to $200.00 per month if documentation of other group medical coverage is provided. Electing this option will provide you up to an additional $200.00 per month on your paycheck (prorated for eligible part-time employees according to budgeted FTE).
To opt out of PCC insurance, you must also go through the online enrollment process, indicating that the option you want to exercise is to opt out. You will be asked to provide information regarding the other group insurance under which you are covered. Please have that information handy when you are going through the online process.
*Part-time faculty may opt out of medical and vision coverage if they have other group or individual medical insurance coverage, but they are not eligible for the incentive payment.
Part-Time Faculty Eligibility Requirements
Employees who receive the open enrollment mailing in early August need to complete the OEBB online open enrollment process. More »
COBRA Rates
Monthly Premium Rates for COBRA Continuation effective October 1, 2009.
Mid-Year Changes
PCC employees may add or drop insurance for themselves and their dependents only within 31 days of a qualifying event or at Open Enrollment. See Guidelines for Mid-Year Changes.
Special Categories and Situations
To read more click on a category.
- Retirees
Employees retiring from PCC may retain their group coverage on PCC’s medical plans, with certain restrictions, until they reach 65 and become eligible for Medicare. Retirees pay the full cost of premiums based on the rate for active employees for the plans unless there is a PCC contribution established under the labor agreement or PCC policy. Retirees are not eligible for the health insurance opt out (waiver) incentive.
In general, to continue on a PCC retiree group plan after retirement the employee must be receiving PERS benefits. For Kaiser retiree coverage, that coverage will terminate if the retiree permanently moves outside of the Northwest Kaiser Service Area.
- Domestic Partner Coverage
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Domestic partners are currently permitted to participate in nearly all of PCC’s benefit programs. The only restrictions occur in cases where the federal government or state does not recognize domestic partnerships, and typically this affects the taxability of benefits. The Certificate of Domestic Partnership will need to be submitted for a domestic partner to participate in the benefit programs. Access the Domestic Partner benefits website for additional information including the Certificate of Domestic Partnership.
Reconstructive Surgery
Please see Reconstructive Surgery Notice.
College Contribution (CAP)
The College makes a contribution (the "Cap") toward medical, vision and dental premiums. Eligible part time faculty get a $324 Cap per month. The monthly Cap* for full-time employees is:
- $540 for employee only on medical coverage
- $815 for employee plus spouse or domestic partner (DP) on medical coverage
- $815 for employee plus child or children on medical coverage
- $975 for employee plus family (includes spouse or DP and child or children) on medical coverage
- Employees only enrolling in dental (no medical) coverage get the employee only Cap ($540) regardless of how many dependents are covered
* Please Note: The Cap applies to medical, vision and dental premiums, but is determined by medical level of coverage for everyone except part-time faculty. The Cap is prorated by FTE for non-faculty part-time employees (example: a .5 FTE employee choosing employee plus one medical coverage would get $815 x .5 = $407.50 Cap).
Any cost over the amount paid by the College is your responsibility to pay and will be deducted from your paycheck on a pre-tax basis. To determine your monthly cost, add the medical premium , vision premium and dental premium together then subtract the Cap [(medical + vision + dental) - CAP = monthly payroll deduction]. If the CAP doesn’t cover the entire cost, then the remainder will be deducted from your paycheck on a pre-tax basis.
Questions?
Check out the Frequently Asked Questions. If they don't appear there, email your questions to HR/benefits. And don't forget to attend an Informational Meeting.