When you are first eligible for the Fund’s health care coverage, you will receive an enrollment packet from the Fund Office. Complete the enrollment form and return it to the Fund Office by the deadline noted in your enrollment materials. If you do not receive the enrollment packet a month before your eligibility date, contact the Fund Office.
To enroll a dependent, you must provide the Fund with copies of certain documents, as listed in the instructions provided with your enrollment form.
Once enrolled, your premium contribution will be deducted from your paycheck in the current month. You generally cannot drop coverage for yourself or any enrolled family members until the next Open Enrollment period. Exceptions are provided in very limited circumstances (such as if you are paying the full cost for a dependent’s coverage). Contact the Fund Office if you have questions.
If you choose not to enroll when you become eligible (by not responding by the deadline shown in your enrollment materials) you will not have Fund health care coverage. Also, you will not be permitted to enroll until the next Open Enrollment period (with coverage effective on January 1 of the following year). For example, if you chose not to enroll when you became eligible on February 1, 2017, you will have to wait until the next Open Enrollment period, in late fall 2017, to enroll, and your coverage would not be effective until January 1, 2018.
However, certain qualified life events may provide you with a special enrollment right and allow you to enroll at other times during the year.