Watch for 2021 Summary of Benefits and Coverage Documents
Starting September 8, 2020, cooperatives will receive a Message Center notification when 2021 summary of benefits and coverage (SBC) documents are available on the Employee Benefits website. You must distribute SBCs either with your annual enrollment materials or by November 1, 2020 (whichever is earlier).
The SBC is a required disclosure for your co-op’s NRECA medical, dental, and vision plans. It helps plan participants compare their group benefit plan coverage options to make coverage decisions during annual enrollment. The SBC describes exclusions and cost-sharing, gives examples of certain covered services, and includes a glossary of frequently used health insurance terms. Although some examples or terms may not apply to your co-op’s plan, by law they must be included in the SBC, which cannot be modified.
This year, SBCs will be delivered in PDF format. Be sure to download a copy of Adobe Acrobat Reader if you do not already have it.
You will receive a 2021 SBC for:
- All NRECA medical plans renewed for January 2021 during annual renewal
- Stand-alone well-being programs—you must update the well-being SBC in the highlighted areas before distribution
- NRECA dental and vision plans if the co-op pays 100% of the premium for employees (you won’t receive an SBC for an NRECA VSP Vision Plan)
For non-excepted health flexible spending accounts and health reimbursement arrangements, model SBC notices are posted online. Co-ops that offer these plans must download the samples, update the highlighted sections to reflect your plan’s provisions, and distribute them. These models are only samples; please review them with your legal counsel before using them:
- Health flexible spending accounts (FSA), except when your co-op does not contribute to the FSA, provides a dollar-for-dollar match or contributes no more than $500
- Health reimbursement arrangements
Timing, distribution and acknowledgement
By November 1 (or, if earlier, with your annual enrollment materials), distribute SBCs to all individuals (employees, retirees, directors, your retained attorney, surviving dependents and COBRA plan participants) eligible for the group plans that your co-op will offer during 2021. Also give SBCs to:
- new enrollees at the time of first enrollment
- individuals with HIPAA special enrollments, and
- employees who request a copy (within seven business days).
For complete information about your SBCs, including which plans receive them, when to distribute them to employees, and electronic distribution guidelines, review the Summary of Benefits and Coverage (SBC) page in the BA Guide on the Employee Benefits website. There you’ll also find a list of frequently asked questions about the content and format of the SBC.
Information about temporary electronic distribution methods that your co-op may be able to follow if your business operations have been negatively impacted by the pandemic is posted on the COVID-19 Benefit Plan Timeline Extension page.
Acknowledgement is the important final step in the distribution process. Fill out the acknowledgment form on the Employee Benefits website by November 1. Follow the link in the original SBC Message Center notification or go directly to the form on the Group Plan Documents page. You can acknowledge distributing SBCs for multiple plans in one step.
If you have questions about SBCs, contact the benefits compliance team at 866.673.2299, option 7, or group.compliance@nreca.coop.