Annual enrollment, which will take place from Nov. 15, 2010 to Dec. 3, 2010, gives all eligible employees the opportunity to either enroll in the insurance plans or make changes to current benefit elections, such as adding dependents or changing coverage options.

The 2011 annual enrollment will be a passive enrollment which means no action is required by you unless you need to make changes to your current benefit enrollment, with the exception of the Flexible Spending Accounts. FSA plans require an annual election.You should should receive an enrollment packet prior to November 15.

As a reminder, you are eligible to participate in the plans if you are a full-time employee who works 30 or more hours per week. You can also enroll your eligible dependents if they meet the eligibility requirements as defined by the plan.

  Eligible dependents include:

Spouse – A member of the opposite sex to whom you are legally married. (Common Law spouses are not eligible under our plan).

 Child(ren) - Any unmarried child(ren) who is/are: Under the limiting age (26); and/or a child of any age who is medically certified as disabled and dependent on the parent for support and maintenance.

Child means:

• Your natural child; or
• Your legally adopted child, including a child for whom the participant is a party in a suit in which the adoption of the child is sought; or
• Your stepchild; or
• A child of your child who is your dependent for federal income tax purposes at the time application of coverage of the child of your child is made and legal guardianship must be provided; or
• A child for whom an employee has received  a court order requiring he/she to have financial responsibility for providing health insurance; or

A child not listed above:

• Whose primary residence is your household; and
• To whom you are legal guardian or related by blood or marriage; and
• Who is dependent upon you for more than one-half of his support as defined by the Internal Revenue Code of the United States

If you are enrolling any dependents in medical or dental plans, please review the eligibility requirements for dependents and please provide the required documentation listed in the chart below to your HR department. Your dependents will NOT be enrolled until this information is received.  

Please black out Social Security numbers, account numbers and any financial information from the documentation.

Documentation you'll need to enroll:

Your Spouse:

• Photocopy of Marriage License

And

• Photocopy of most recent joint federal tax return if filing jointly (first page only), or
• Photocopy of both spouse’s federal tax returns if filing separately (first page only) or
• Photocopy of tax confirmation notice(s) if filed online

Your Child(ren):

• Photocopy of birth certificate for biological children showing you as a parent, or
• Photocopy of birth certificate showing the child’s parent to be your spouse and a copy of the marriage license, or
• Photocopies of court papers for adopted children or children placed for adoption, or
• Photocopies of court papers demonstrating legal guardianship or custodianship for court-appointed children.

IPS employees have a great tool at their disposal to help them reduce overall expenses and enjoy additional tax relief.

Flexible Spending Accounts, or FSAs, provide you with an important tax advantage that can help you pay health care and dependent care expenses on a pre-tax basis. By anticipating your family’s health care and dependent care costs for the next plan year, you can actually lower your taxable income.

How Do the Accounts Work?
If you decide to enroll in either the Health Care Reimbursement FSA or the Dependent Care FSA, your contributions are taken out of each paycheck - before taxes - in equal installments throughout the plan year. These dollars are then placed into your FSA. When you have eligible health care expenses you have the option of using an FSA debit card to pay for the expenses or you can submit a claim form with an itemized receipt for reimbursement.  Dependent care expenses require you to submit a claim form along with an itemized receipt to be reimbursed.

The Health Care Reimbursement FSA will reimburse you for the full amount of your annual election (less any reimbursement already received), at any time during the plan year, regardless of the amount actually in your account. The Dependent Care FSA will only reimburse you for the amount that is in your account at the time you make a claim.

There are numerous out-of-pocket expenses eligible for reimbursement including medical copays, prescription copays, glasses, contacts or contact solution, dental or orthodontia services. Certain over-the-counter medicines and supplies may be reimbursable expenses. However, starting Jan. 1, 2011, over-the-counter drugs (except insulin) purchased without a prescription will no longer qualify.

Changes prompted by new federal insurance guidelines will become effective in January, making this year’s annual enrollment period in November take on added significance for IPS employees.

The changes to health insurance coverage follow the Congressional approval of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act last year and include provisions that require employers to continue coverage for eligible dependents until the age of 26, unless they are eligible for coverage through their own employer. Employees will need to complete an enrollment form adding coverage for these dependents.

“These changes are important for our employees to understand,” said Carol Rankin, IPS benefits specialist. “The new federal legislation that is taking effect over the next few years will bring with it additional changes, and it’s important for everyone to know how these changes affect their coverage.”

In addition to the increase in the age of dependent status, the new federal law also:

Prohibits insurance companies from applying pre-existing condition exclusion periods to children under the age of 19.

No longer allows the use of flexible spending arrangements for over-the-counter, non-prescription drugs. Employees can’t be reimbursed through their flexible spending accounts for non-prescription medications, without a prescription from a physician for the over-the-counter medication.

In addition to changes in health insurance coverage, Complete Production Services plans to reinstate its 401(k) employer match program effective Jan. 1, 2011. All of these changes will be part of the annual enrollment period that runs from Nov. 15 to December 3, 2010.