Benefit Notice Deadlines and Details
4/28/2010
The list below includes upcoming deadlines and information for benefit notices that are required to be issued to plan participants.
If you are a POMCO Group client, please contact your account manager with details on how we can assist you with your benefit notices.
- Privacy Notices - Employers must distribute a privacy notice to inform individuals about how their medical information is handled and about any rights they may have with respect to their information. No less frequently than once every three years, the plan must notify individuals currently covered by the plan of the availability of the notice and how to obtain the notice. The notice must be provided at the time of enrollment to new enrollees, and within 60 days of a material revision to the notice. Deadline date for notices is July 1, 2010.
- Medicaid and the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) - Annual notice to Plan participants. CHIP allows special enrollment rights to employees or dependents not covered under the health plan, but who may enroll upon the loss of Medicaid or the state's CHIP or becomes eligible for premium assistance under Medicaid or CHIP. The employee may request enrollment in your health plan 60 days after loss of such coverage. Initial notice deadline is July 1, 2010 for fiscal year Plans and January 1, 2011 for calendar year plans. May be combined with other information (e.g., open enrollment materials) as long as it goes to the entire employee population, not just health plan participants.
- CMS Disclosure Notices - Entities that are required to provide a disclosure of creditable coverage status to CMS must complete the online Disclosure to CMS Form. Due 60 days after beginning of Plan year. Deadline date for notices is Sept 1st for plans with start dates of July 1st and March 1st for plans with start dates of January 1st.
- Medicare Part D application to CMS - Annual application for subsidy. Deadline date is September 30th for plans with years ending in December and March 31st for fiscal year-ending plans.
- Letters of Creditable Coverage - Annual notice to plan participants disclosing whether or not prescription drug coverage is creditable. Creditable means the drug benefit under your health plan is at least as much as the benefit under the Medicare Part D. Annual deadline is before Nov 15th.
- The Women's Health and Cancer Rights Act of 1998 - Annual notice to be sent to Plan participants. Health Plans that provide mastectomy benefits must provide information on the availability of benefits for treatment of mastectomy-related services. May be combined with other information (e.g., open enrollment materials).
- COBRA - General Notice - Each covered employee and each covered spouse of the covered employee must be sent a general notice describing COBRA rights. The general notice must be provided within the first 90 days of coverage. (However, if a qualifying event occurs for a qualified beneficiary within those 90 days, the general notice must be provided at the same time the plan administrator is required to provide an election notice.) To satisfy this requirement, the General Notice or the Summary Plan Description must be given to the employee and to the covered spouse within this time limit. In addition, to insure all spouses have received this notice, a general mailing is recommended.
- General and Individual Notices of Preexisting Conditions - For Plans which have this provision, the General Notice must be provided as part of any written materials distributed at the time of enrollment. The Individual Notice must be given after receiving creditable coverage information from an individual that is not enough to offset the preexisting condition exclusion period. Note: Dependents under the age of 19 are exempt from exclusion under this provision.