STATE EMPLOYEES RETIREMENT COMMISSION		55 ELM STREET HARTFORD, CONNECTICUT 06106-1775 TELEPHONE: (860) 702-3480 TELEFAX:(860) 702-3489
MEDICAL EXAMINING BOARD for DISABILITY RETIREMENT
HEALTH CARE COST CONTAINMENT COMMITTEE
	STATE OF CONNECTICUT RETIREMENT AND BENEFIT SERVICES DIVISION OFFICE OF THE STATE COMPTROLLER

COMPTROLLER'S MEMORANDUM NO. 2004-03

January 14, 2004

TO THE HEADS OF ALL STATE AGENCIES

INTRODUCTION: CORE-CT Benefits Administration - Benefits Billing is used to bill employees for the employee share of 1) health insurance premiums (medical and dental) and 2) group life insurance premiums, when the employee is not receiving a payroll check. This will occur when an employee is on an authorized, qualifying unpaid leave. Benefits Billing must be used to ensure continuation of coverage and proper payment to the carriers, and replaces all previous billing procedures. The state share of the premium will only be allocated and paid to the carrier for employees who have paid their share of the premium either through payroll deductions or through benefits billing. The employee's coverage will be cancelled if the carriers do not receive 100% of the premium payment on behalf of that employee for two (2) consecutive months.

PROCEDURES: When a job event occurs that removes the employee from payroll, the Benefits Administration Process will automatically enroll the employee in Benefits Billing, which will stop payroll benefit deductions. Agencies must then calculate, print and distribute monthly billing statements to employees enrolled in benefits billing. Agencies are advised to check the Billing Enrollment page after a job event occurs which removes an employee from payroll to ensure accurate benefits billing enrollment. When a job event occurs that returns the employee to payroll, the Benefits Administration Process will automatically stop the billing process and reinstate payroll benefit deductions; agencies are advised to check the Billing Enrollment page to ensure the employee has been properly inactivated from benefits billing.

The billing period begins on the 20th day of the each month and ends on the 19th day of the following month. The employee's payment due date is the 3rd day of the benefit month. (Example: For the February 2004 benefit month, the billing period is titled 0204 and will appear as 1/20/04 - 2/19/04. The payment due date is 2/3/04.) This schedule will allow proper crediting of payment to the employee's record and payment to the carriers to ensure no lapse of coverage. These dates cannot be modified by Agencies. Note that only the most current period needs to be selected, as the system will calculate charges for all open prior periods and will bill the employee accordingly. It is important that the correct billing period is chosen from the list in Benefits Billing.

All bills will be in the amount of the monthly premium, unless adjusted manually by the Agency through the Charge Adjustment page for individual employees who may have paid in advance. The monthly premium is the bi-weekly amount multiplied by 26, divided by 12. An adjustment will be necessary for an employee who has paid for part of a month through payroll deduction, or returns to active payroll status prior to the end of a period for which they have paid. The amount an employee is required to pay is determined by their benefit billing status on the last day of the benefit month. For example, an employee whose biweekly medical premium share is $48.03 will be charged as follows:

Agencies must determine whether adjustments to the billing amount and/or payroll amounts are necessary with respect to the amount paid during the month and the amount due. The Agency enters employee payments on the Payment Entry page. All employee payments will be applied to the earliest period not paid.

Billing Statement:

The Billing Statement will include all health insurance and group life insurance amounts owed to date by that employee. The billing statement will instruct the employee to make their check payable to "State of Connecticut". Checks should be mailed to the address on the statement; the agency's department table in CORE-CT HRMS sets this address. If an employee pays in advance, subsequent billing statements will reflect any remaining balance paid.

Deposit Instructions:

All employee share checks for health insurance (medical and dental) and group life insurance, payable to the State of Connecticut, should be deposited as follows:

Assistance:

For further information on CORE-CT Benefits Administration refer to the Web Learning Assistant - Benefits Administration or to: http://www.core-ct.state.ct.us/user/hrfaq/bn.xls

Very truly yours,

Nancy Wyman
State Comptroller

NW/SW/nm

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