Plan Elections

May I change my elections during the plan year?

Generally, once an employee has elected to participate in his/her employer's POP plan, the election cannot be revoked during the plan year, even if the revocation relates only to the remaining portion of the plan year. However, a plan may permit a participating employee to revoke an existing election and make a new election for the remaining portion of the plan year, if a "change in status" occurs and the election change is consistent with the change in status.

Change in status events can include:

• A change in the employee's legal marital status
• A change in the employee's number of dependents
• A covered dependent satisfying or ceasing to satisfy coverage eligibility requirements
• A change in the employment status of the employee, spouse or dependent
• A change in the place of residence of the employee, spouse or dependent

What about mid-year elections?

Mid-year election changes may be permitted by a plan, as long as they result from:

• Electing or canceling health coverage for a dependent child related to a Qualified Medical Child Support Order ("QMCSO")
• Becoming covered by, or losing coverage under, Medicare or Medicaid
• Experiencing significant cost or coverage changes
• Elections made by spouse or dependent under another employer's plan
• Special enrollment rights under HIPAA

Can an election change be applied retroactively?

No. For example, if an employee gets married and subsequently raises his/her medical insurance contribution, the additional amount withheld for the account is only available for services received after the effective date of the new election.

Under a POP plan, how do employees elect to pay for health care coverage on a pretax basis?

An employee must enter into a salary reduction agreement with their employer, confirming that he/she wishes to pay for health care coverage on a pre-tax basis.