Qualifying Life Event
Outside of Open Enrollment, an employee may change their current coverage only if there has been a major life event.
Benefit-eligible Employees
Benefit-eligible employees who will be working a minimum of 20 hours per week and
have experienced a life event.
What is considered a Life Event?
Typical life events include:
- Marriage or divorce of the employee
- Death of the employee’s spouse or a dependent
- Birth or adoption of a child by the employee
- Termination of employment (or the commencement of employment) of the employee’s spouse
- Moving from a temporary to regular position (or vice versa)
- Taking of an unpaid leave of absence by the employee or the employee’s spouse
- A significant change in the health coverage of the employee or the employee’s spouse attributable to the spouse’s employment
- Gain or involuntary loss of health care coverage of a dependent
Temporary Employees / Sikuliaq Employees
Check with your HR Coordinator and visit the temporary employee webpage.
Dependents
Dependents (spouse/FIP and child(ren)) can only be enrolled in the same plan as the
employee. Review the drop down for additional information on dependents.
Required Documents for Dependents
The University of Alaska requires evidence of eligibility for all enrolled dependents.
Supporting documents include birth certificate, marriage license, final adoption paperwork,
tax returns showing claimed dependents, qualified medical child support orders, legal
guardianship papers, etc.
If an employee enrolls in a medical plan, the following dependents are eligible for coverage, as well.
Spouse
The lawful spouse of an employee unless legally separated.
Financially Interdependent Partner (FIP)
Wherever “spouse” is stated in the health care plan, a FIP would also be included
(provided all requirements are met as specified by the University of Alaska).
Health care deductions for FIPs are post-tax.
- FIP Explanation Document
- Statement of Financial Interdependence
- View FIP Tax Rates to see how covering a FIP affects income tax.
Child(ren)
- Under 26 years of age
- Natural offspring of either/both employee or employee's spouse
- Legally adopted of either/both employee or employee's spouse
- Granted court-appointed legal guardianship
- Signed court order granting guardianship to employee or employee's spouse of the employee as of a specific date.
- When the court order terminates or expires, the child is no longer an eligible child.
- Domestic relations order to provide medical benefits as directed by a divorce decree, a medical child support order, or other court-ordered dependent coverage
- Foster child living with the employee
- Signed court order (or other order) signed by judge or state agency which grants guardianship to the employee or employee's spouse as of a specific date.
- When the court order terminates or expires, the child is no longer an eligible child.
- Placed for the purpose of legal adoption in accordance with state law
- Placed for adoption means assumption and retention by the employee of a legal obligation for total or partial support of a child in anticipation of adoption of such child.
Due Dates
If an employee is welcoming a new family member and would like to enroll their newborn
in coverage, the form must be submitted within 60 days of birth.
SSN and Birth Certificate
Do not wait for the social security number or official birth certificate before submitting
the Life Event Changes Form.
Submitting the Form
When completing the Life Event Changes Form submit
- the temporary birth certificate from the hospital, and
- use 0's for placeholders for the SSN.
Once the SSN is received, please reach out to us at ua-benefits@alaska.edu for instructions on how to add the SSN. Do not send any SSNs through email.
New Benefit-eligible Employees
Review the New Employee webpage for more information on enrolling in coverage. Employees have 30 days from their
hire date to enroll in coverage otherwise employees will be defaulted into Basic medical,
Basic dental, and vision for employee-only coverage.
Current Benefit-eligible Employees - Life Event
Review the drop down menus below.
Temporary Employees / Sikuliaq Employees
Check with your HR Coordinator and visit the temporary employee webpage.
Required Documents
Court documents are needed to support removing a dependent from coverage, such as
a divorce decree or legal separation.
If adding dependents, a marriage certificate, birth certificate, or HR approved FIP statement will be needed.
Changes are limited to those in-line and consistent with that major life event. Enrollment changes are subject to the other terms and limitations of this program.
Do Not Delay! If documents are late, submit the form within the 30 or 60 days regardless and email ua-benefits@alaska.edu!
If there is a delay in receiving documentation (i.e. a birth or marriage certificate) do not delay in submitting the life event form. Upload any temporary documents and reach out to
ua-benefits@alaska.edu after submitting the form. Forms that are submitted after the deadline are not accepted. Please do not delay submitting the life event form.
Life Event Form
Life Event Form
Life Event Form - Submit within 30 or 60 Days
If an employee experiences a qualifying life event, a form must be submitted within:
- 30 days from the date of the event
- 60 days from the birth or adoption of a child
Forms Submitted after Deadline - Not Accepted
Forms that are completed and submitted outside of these windows will not be accepted.
Changes to benefits will have to be completed during the annual Open Enrollment period.
Below are a list of other benefit considerations that may need to be made during this time. This is not an exhaustive list, but to be used as a guide. Please reach out to ua-benefits@alaska.edu if there are any questions.
All but Corestream are provided directly in the Life Event form.
Health Savings Account (HSA) - set aside pre-tax dollars for health care. Only available with the HDHP.
Health Care Flexible Spending Account (HC FSA) - set aside pre-tax dollars for medical expenses.
Dependent Care Flexible Spending Account (DC FSA) - set aside pre-tax dollars for day care charges for dependent children under the age of 13.
Supplemental Insurance - enroll in employee only, spouse/FIP, and/or child(ren)!
Accidental Death & Dismemberment (AD&D) - covers the employee or employee and family.
Corestream - additional supplemental insurances including hospital indemnity insurance, critical illness, and more.
Family Medical Leave (FML) - provides job protected leave for eligible employees.
Parental Leave - employees on approved FML for the birth of their child receive up to 5 paid days of leave that is separate from all other paid leaves. This leave balance is provided automatically by UA HR and must be used in the first 6 months.
Short-term Disability (STD) - helps replace income for eligible employees who are absent from work up to 11 weeks due to their own disability.
TouchCare - assists employees with questions about their medical, dental, and vision coverage including helping families decide what coverages work best for them.
Employee Assistance Program (EAP) - an employee support system that is available to help with finding childcare, short-term counseling, legal and financial advice, and more.
Now is a great time to make sure beneficiaries are up to date. Below is a list of accounts that require a beneficiary and how to update.
- Basic Life Beneficiary - available to all benefit-eligible employees.
- Supplemental Life Beneficiary - if a spouse/child(ren) is enrolled, the beneficiary is automatically the employee for those coverages. An employee enrolled in the coverage will need to designate a beneficiary.
- Accidental Death & Dismemberment (AD&D) Beneficiary - the employee will need to designate a beneficiary
- Retirement beneficiaries are held with the vendor directly. Reach out to the vendor(s) to ensure they have accurate beneficiaries on file.
Additionally, the Benefits department has put together a list of a few other items that may need to be reviewed during this time. Many of these require assistance outside the Benefits department.
- Name changes - contact your HRC
- Address updates - complete on UAOnline
- W4 updates - complete the NextGen form; questions should be routed to payroll at ua-payroll@alaska.edu
- Qualified Domestic Relations Order (QDRO) - may be needed in the event of divorce; work with representation and reach out to ua-benefits@alaska.edu for additional paperwork
Congratulations on the new addition! Please review the information on this entire webpage carefully to understand how to add a newborn to a UA Choice plan.
60 Day Form Deadline
Submit the form within 60 days of birth. Do not wait for the social security number or official birth certificate.
SSN and Birth Certificate - Do Not Delay Form
Do not wait for the SSN or official birth certificate. Enter 0's for the SSN if unknown and submit
the temporary birth certificate from the hospital. Forms submitted after the first
60 days will not be accepted. Once the SSN and birth certificate are received, please reach out to us at ua-benefits@alaska.edu for instructions. Do not send any SSNs through email.
Premera will mail a temporary card for the newborn's first 30 days. This does not confirm coverage beyond the initial 30 days. A form must be submitted within 60 days of birth for coverage to continue beyond the initial 30 days.
Additional Benefit Considerations
Please read through the rest of this page thoroughly to consider all the benefit changes
that need to be made during this time.
30 Days - Major Life Event
A form must be submitted within 30 days of the life event. Forms submitted after the 30-day window will not be accepted.
60 Days - Adding Newborn / Finalized Adoption
A form must be submitted within 60 days birth or adoption. If a form is submitted
after the day of the event, arrears will be collected for the child's coverage. Forms submitted after the 60-day window will not be accepted.
Major Life Event - Day of Life Event
Coverage can begin on the day of the life event. To qualify for first-day coverage,
a new employee must submit their health care form by 5:00pm on the Thursday prior
to the end of the pay period in which the life event occurs.
Major Life Event - Other Coverage Begin Dates
If a form is not submitted by the deadline listed above, coverage will begin on the
first day of the pay period in which the form is submitted. Forms submitted after
the deadlines will not be accepted.
Day of Birth / Finalized Adoption
For birth or adoption, the coverage is effective the date of birth or date the adoption
was finalized. Arrears may be collected, if applicable. Reach out to ua-benefits@alaska.edu if there are any questions on arrears.
Forms must be submitted within 30 days of life event and within 60 days to add a newborn to coverage. Late forms will not be accepted.
UA has several resources available to employees who need assistance. When in doubt, please email ua-benefits@alaska.edu and we will be sure to direct the questions appropriately.
UA Benefits Team | ua-benefits@alaska.edu or Meet with Us
- Need help submitting a form or providing documentation for a dependent?
- Want confirmation of coverage begin and end dates?
- Want to set up a quick zoom for some basic questions?
- Need help determining what plan works best for you and your family?
- Need help finding a provider or doing price comparisons?
- Received a bill that may be incorrect?
Premera | Call the number on the back of the Premera ID card
- Having issues logging into the premera portal?
- Wanting to confirm prior authorization for a certain service?
- Want to enroll in electronic Explanation of Benefits (eEOBs)?
VSP | 1-800-877-7195
- Having issues logging into the VSP portal?
- Wanting to confirm prior authorization for a certain service?
AsiFlex | 1-800-659-3035
- Having issues logging into the AsiFlex portal?
- Wanting to understand what is considered a qualified expense?
Bank of America | Call the number on the back of the ASIFlex debit card
Having issues with identity verification and account set up? Call 1-800-992-3200.
- Having trouble logging into the Bank of America portal?
- Wanting to understand what is considered a qualified expense?
Corestream | 1-907-331-6938 | universityofalaskasupport@corestream.com