Benefits- Thinking About Enrolling?

Ways to Enroll:

Open Enrollment 

Open enrollment is an annual event allowing benefits eligible employees to make changes to their current plans, or to enroll in the Town Health Insurance and Town Dental Insurance. If you are a benefits eligible employee you will receive communication from Benefits in April advertising the upcoming open enrollment period. 

We take enrollments, or changes to current enrollments, in April for a June 1 effective date (Medical) and June for July 1 Dental. 

Qualifying Events

In order to enroll in the Town’s medical or dental plan outside of the open enrollment period you must have a qualifying event.

There are 4 basic types of qualifying life events. (The following are examples, not a full list.)

• Loss of health coverage 
  1. Losing existing health coverage, including job-based, individual, and student plans 
  2. Turning 26 and losing coverage through a parent’s plan 
• Changes in household
  1. Getting married or divorced
  2. Having a baby or adopting a child 
  3. Death in the family 
• Changes in residence
• Other qualifying events
  1. Changes in your income that affect the coverage you qualify for MassHealth or a subsidy thereof

Enrollment Period

 While having a qualifying event allows you to enroll in the Town Health and Dental benefits outside the normal open enrollment period, there are still important time frames to keep in mind. Should you miss these times frames you will not be able to enroll in our insurance and will have to wait for open enrollment. 

You will start paying for coverage on the effective enrollment dates listed below, no exceptions. 

• Loss of health coverage (30 days to enroll)
  1. Losing existing health coverage, including job-based, individual, and student plans: Your enrollment must be effective the date you lost coverage 
  2. Turning 26 and losing coverage through a parent’s plan: Your enrollment must be effective the first of the month after your birthday 
• Changes in household (30 days to enroll)
  1. Getting married or divorced: Your enrollment must be effective the date of marriage or divorce 
  2. Having a baby or adopting a child: Your enrollment must be effective the date of the child’s birth 
  3. Death in the family Your enrollment must be effective the date of death
• Changes in residence (30 days to enroll) Your enrollment must be effective the date of move
• Other qualifying events (30 days to enroll)
  1. Changes in your income that affect the coverage you qualify for MassHealth or a subsidy thereof Your enrollment must be effective the date indicated by MassHealth on the letter they mailed you

Health Plan “Catchup” Deduction

 The Town pays for health insurance a month in advance, so for example deductions taken from your December pay check pay for January coverage. When you are newly enrolled in our health plan we have you pay a “catchup” amount, which is an extra 30 days of coverage. So, your first two pay checks you will have you regular health deduction taken out and an additional health deduction taken out. The Town likewise continues to cover your health insurance you 30 days after your last date worked. So, if you were to leave, retire, etc. we would cover you 30 days past your last date worked.

This does not apply for Dental insurance.