Watch for 2023 Summary of Benefits and Coverage Documents
Starting September 9, cooperatives will receive a Message Center notification when summary of benefits and coverage (SBC) documents are available on the Employee Benefits website. Distribute the SBCs either with your annual enrollment materials or by November 1, 2022 (whichever is earlier).
The SBC is a required disclosure that helps participants compare and select group benefit plan coverage. It describes plan 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.
NRECA provides SBCs for:
- All NRECA medical plans renewed for January 2023
- Stand-alone well-being programs (update the highlighted fields before distribution)
- NRECA dental and vision plans, if your co-op pays 100% of the premium for employees. Note that SBCs aren’t required for the VSP Vision Plan.
Co-ops that offer health flexible spending accounts and health reimbursement arrangements must create SBC notices. You may use the model notices available on the pages linked above. Download the sample(s) and update the highlighted sections to reflect your plan’s provisions. The models are only samples, so please review them with your legal counsel before use. You do not need to distribute the health flexible spending account SBC if your co-op does not contribute to the account, provides a dollar-for-dollar match, or contributes less than $500.
Give SBCs to everyone who is eligible for the plans that your co-op will offer during 2023. Eligible individuals include employees, retirees, directors, your retained attorney, surviving dependents, COBRA plan participants, as well as:
- 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 require them, when to distribute them, and electronic distribution guidelines, review the Summary of Benefits and Coverage (SBC) page on the Employee Benefits website. Additional electronic distribution options may be available to you if your business operations have been negatively impacted by the pandemic. See the COVID-19 Benefit Plan Timeline Extension page.
Finally, complete the acknowledgement form on the Employee Benefits website after distributing your SBCs. 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 the content of your SBCs, call the benefits compliance team at 866.673.2299, option 7, or group.compliance@nreca.coop.