For Baltimore County employees and retirees only. Open Enrollment month for Baltimore County-sponsored group benefit plans will take place this year from July 6 through July 31. In June of 2009 Benefit Confirmation Statements were mailed to employees at their home addresses. Please review that statement carefully it identifies your current benefits, current and new costs for those benefits and important personal information on file with Baltimore County’s Insurance Division. - You will be required to re-enroll if any of the following applies to you:
- You want to enroll in a Medical, Dental or Vision plan for the first time
- You want to change your health or dental plan election
- You need to add an eligible dependent to your benefit plan(s)
- You need to remove a dependent who is no longer eligible for benefits
- You are an active employee and you want to continue a Flexible Spending Account for Day Care Expenses or for Health Care Expenses.
- You are an active employee and you want to enroll for the first time in a Day Care or Health Care Flexible Spending Account
- You are a retiree with Medicare or Over Age 65 coverage and you want to add Dental or Vision at the full premium (no County Subsidy).
Baltimore County continues to offer the Employee Self Service (ESS) system that allows you to enroll in County benefits and to request changes to your benefits during Open Enrollment at www.baltimorecountymd.gov/mybenefits. Information and enrollment instructions can be found in the back of the Benefit Guide. If you have already used ESS, continue to use your current password. If you are a new user logging in for the first time, your password is your six-digit date of birth combined with the last four digits of your social security number (mmddyy1234). For security reasons the system will prompt you to change your password. If you are not a regular ESS user, be sure to gather your ESS user ID and password in late June, so you are ready for Open Enrollment. If you have questions about your user ID or password, please contact the Service Desk at 410-887-8200. Active Employees are required to enroll online. Retirees continue to have the option of a paper enrollment application. If you are retired and you wish to complete a paper application, contact the Insurance Division at 410-887-2568 or 1-800-274-4302. Important: If you enter the enrollment wizard in ESS for any reason, be sure to follow through to the end of the wizard and click the FINISH button. You may check your benefits in ESS at anytime throughout the year by selecting Benefits/Deductions under the My Info tab. Premium Costs for Employees Hired Prior to July 1, 2007 If you are enrolled in the CareFirst Triple Choice plan, the County share of premium cost will decrease by 1 percent per year for each of the next 3 years – for September 1, 2009 the County share will be 82 percent, your share will be 18 percent.
If you are enrolled in United Healthcare Choice Open Access HMO or Kaiser Permanente Select HMO plan, the County share of premium cost will decrease to 90 percent over the next 3 years for September 1, 2009 the County share will be 93 percent, your share will be 7 percent.
Premium Costs for Employees Hired On or After July 1, 2007 CareFirst Regional Traditional Dental Plan - The County will increase the amount it pays toward the premium for this Dental plan from the current 55 percent of premium to 60 percent in 2009, and by 5 percent each year thereafter until County share of premium reaches 75 percent.
Including dependents on Your Health Plans
If you include a legal spouse and your legal dependent children up to the plan age limits on your medical plans, Baltimore County will pay the full subsidy amount for your Individual coverage plus 75 percent of the difference in cost between the Individual premium amount and the cost to include your dependent. Your share of the cost will be the difference between what the County pays and the full premium amount.
If you are enrolled in the CareFirst Triple Choice plan and you qualify for the same subsidy as active employees, the County share of premium cost will decrease by 1 percent per year for each of the next 3 years for September 1, 2009 the County share will be 82 percent, your share will be 18 percent.
If you are enrolled in United Healthcare Choice Open Access HMO or Kaiser Permanente Select HMO plan and you qualify for the same subsidy as active employees, the County share of premium cost will decrease to 90 percent over the next 3 years for September 1, 2009 the County share will be 93 percent, your share will be 7 percent.
If you do not qualify for the same subsidy as active employees, subsidy levels will also decrease over the next 3 years. Refer to the rates in the Retiree Benefit Guide for those hired before and retired after July 1, 2007 for additional information.
New Employees New County employees are required to complete benefit applications online within 31 days of their hire date. Benefits will become effective on the first of the month after the online application is completed and approved. New employees can download a copy of the Benefit Guide for Employees hired on or after July 1, 2007 with plan costs and descriptions for review. Retirees New Retirees are required to complete a Retiree Health Care Application prior to their retirement date. In order to qualify for County health insurance coverage when you retire, three basic requirements must be met: - Retirees must have a minimum of ten (10) years County service upon retirement
- Retirees must have been eligible for benefits while employed with Baltimore County;
- and, the retiree and/or beneficiary must be receiving a retirement check sufficient to cover the retiree's or beneficiary's share of the health plan premium.
Retirees accepting employment outside the County that includes health plan coverage cannot participate in both the County plan and another employer plan at the same time. If the retiree declines County benefit coverage due to the availability of other health plan coverage, reinstatement in County benefit plans is allowed if that coverage is lost as long as the County retirement check amount is sufficient to cover the retiree's share of health plan premium. The amount you will pay for benefit plan participation is based on the number of years of creditable service with Baltimore County, the date of your retirement, and the type of retirement (service or disability). For more information on Retiree plans and costs you can download a copy of the Retiree Benefit Guide. Revised June 22, 2009
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