Dec. 22 is the deadline for employees to enroll in the new John Hancock Long-Term Care (LTC) plan without having to provide evidence of good health.
The A&M System’s LTC carrier will change Jan. 1, 2007, from CNA to the John Hancock Life Insurance Company. The enrollment period for this new plan is underway.
During this enrollment period, if you currently have coverage under the CNA plan, you can:
If you are an eligible, actively-at-work employee, you may elect any of the new options without providing evidence of good health during this open enrollment period, regardless of whether you are currently enrolled in the CNA plan.
Other current enrollees, including family members and retirees, may transfer to John Hancock without providing evidence of good health if they replace their coverage with a coverage level that is less than or equal to their current level. Evidence of good health will be required to:
Retirees and family members not currently enrolled in LTC coverage must provide evidence of good health to enroll in the new plan. Eligible family members include spouses, parents, parents-in-law, grandparents, grandparents-in-law, siblings and adult children. Family members must be age 18 or older and, except for spouses of eligible, active employees, must reside in the U.S. (50 states and DC) to be eligible to apply.
If you are currently covered under the CNA plan, you should have received a packet outlining your options and costs and including a form you must complete and return to transfer to the John Hancock plan. Currently covered family members should have received their own packages and can make their own enrollment decisions.
All those not currently enrolled may request packets by contacting John Hancock at the phone number or web site listed below or simply enroll online at the John Hancock web site.
If you are an active employee, you will be able to pay premiums only for the John Hancock plan for yourself and your spouse through payroll deduction. If you stay with CNA, you will be billed directly or may set up a bank draft for premiums.
In explaining the move to John Hancock, Ellen Gerescher, employee benefits manager, System Human Resources Office, said, “We have been with the same carrier, CNA, for 16 years. When we rebid the plan, which we are required to do as a state agency at least every six years, we found that John Hancock provided a plan with some enhanced benefits for a lower cost. Although some current enrollees will see a premium increase, we felt that the benefits offered were worth the cost for the majority of those enrolled.”
Some of these enhancements include:
If you have questions or want to request an enrollment kit:
