Effective January 1, 2019, the following carriers for voluntary workplace benefits will be allowed to continue, or become, the vendors of choice for county government.
(A) Colonial Life Insurance Company will provide benefits to include group short-term disability, group accident, group cancer, and group critical care coverages, with authorized pretax deductions based on employee voluntary elections.
(B) Unum Life Insurance (parent company of Colonial) will provide the benefits for group basic employee life offered to employees on behalf of the county, as well as a group product for additional voluntary life insurance and accidental death and disability (ADD), with authorized pretax deductions based on employee voluntary elections.
(C) Fort Dearborn, formally known as Med Life, will no longer be employer-supported and will be discontinued as the carrier for basic employee life, and, as such, will no longer be continued with authorized pretax deductions based on employee voluntary elections. Dearborn National will be discontinued as the carrier offering in the past traditional not under a group product offering voluntary life insurance and accidental death and disability (ADD), and as, such will no longer be continued with authorized pretax deductions based on employee voluntary elections.
(D) American Family Life Assurance Company (AFLAC) will be discontinued as a carrier offering Traditional not under a group product offering short term disability, cancer, critical illness, and accident coverages, and, as such, will no longer be continued with authorized pretax deductions based on employee voluntary elections.
(E) Voluntary workplace benefits are offered at the option of the employer, are not required coverages under the Affordable Care Act (formally known as the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act and being Pub. Law No. 111-148, March 23, 2010, 124 Stat. 119), and are products in which the employee pays the full cost of the product, and are not subsidized by the employer.
(F) Voluntary workplace benefits, if offered in a pre-tax status, are required to be incorporated into the Employer/County § 125 Benefits Plan and remain in full compliance with Employer/County § 125 Benefits Plan requirements.
(G) Employees that wish to continue with carriers and products no longer supported via pre-tax payroll deductions may continue to do so in a post-tax pay-from-home format based on arrangements made with previous supported carriers/providers.
(H) By offering these products to its employees, the county, as an employer, is required to exercise fiduciary responsibility in such a manner as to offer quality and current plan coverages to benefit eligible employees, and ensure that duplicate coverages are not chosen and overlap with an employee’s selection or need.
(I) The Board of Commissioners establishes that the intent of this section will provide more beneficial and narrowed selection of quality voluntary workplace benefits for employees; current products will be offered as a group employer-sponsored plans which are fully Employer/County § 125 Benefits Plan and pre-tax compliant plans.
(Ord. 2018-15, passed 10-16-2018)