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Benefits | General Frequently Asked Questions

The district provides a set annual contribution amount towards your benefits based on your medical coverage tier (Employee only, Employee+1, Employee+2 or more, Waive). The district contribution amount is applied towards your medical, dental, and vision coverage. Please refer to the “Health Plan Options and Costs” sheet (available on the Welcome tab) specific to your employee group for more detailed information. The long-term disability coverage is fully paid by the district. Voluntary plans (i.e. flexible spending accounts, life insurance, AD&D) are fully paid by the employee.

In addition to their basic information:

  • Child dependent - birth certificate
  • Spouse - marriage certificate
  • Domestic Partner – Affidavit of Domestic Partnership and must meet all of the qualifications of a domestic partner under the state of California.

First review the informational materials in your benefits packet and on the district website to evaluate which plans would meet you/your family’s current medical and dental needs. Some individuals prefer the convenience of having a co-payment and decide to choose an HMO plan. Others prefer to pay deductibles and coinsurance for the flexibility of going to participating and non-participating providers and therefore enroll in PPO plans. Regardless of which plans you choose, keep in mind that all of the plans, whether they are HMO or PPO, are designed to provide comprehensive health coverage to you and your family.

The opportunity to change our plans is offered during our open enrollment period which is held in the fall each year. Changes made during open enrollment will be for a January 1 effective date.

Yes, you have the option to continue your health care coverage through COBRA. Details on COBRA are mailed to your home address by our COBRA Administrator, Employee Benefits Corporation (EBC).

Please see the Contact Us page at the very back of the Benefits Overview Guide.  This page lists all insurance carriers, policy numbers, and carrier contact information.  You can find the Benefits Overview Guide on the District website by following these instructions:
  1. Go to www.wvm.edu.  
  2. Hover over Faculty/Staff and choose Human Resources from the drop down menu.  
  3. Choose the Benefits tab on the left hand side of the page.  
  4. Choose the Overview tab to find the Benefits Overview Guide for your respective employee group.

Please refer to the Benefits Overview Guide.  You can find the Benefits Overview Guide on the District website by following these instructions:
  1. Go to www.wvm.edu.  
  2. Hover over Faculty/Staff and choose Human Resources from the drop down menu.  
  3. Choose the Benefits tab on the left hand side of the page.  
  4. Choose the Overview tab to find the Benefits Overview Guide for your respective employee group.
  5. If you still have a question after reviewing the Overview Guide, please contact the benefits specialist at extension 2168.

Medical, Dental, Vision
To determine your payroll deduction for medical, dental, and vision, please see the Health Care Plan Options and Costs sheet for your respective employee group.
  1. Go to www.wvm.edu.  
  2. Hover over Faculty/Staff and choose Human Resources from the drop down menu.  
  3. Choose the Benefits tab on the left hand side of the page.  
  4. Choose the Overview tab to find the Cost Sheets for your respective employee group.
 
Flexible Spending Account (FSA)
If you are enrolled in an FSA, your payroll deduction is the amount of your annual election divided by the number of pay periods you have in the year.  You can confirm this amount via your SmartBen portal.
 
Voluntary Life and Accidental Death and Dismemberment (AD&D) Insurance
Voluntary employee and spouse life insurance have age-banded rates.  Voluntary child life insurance and voluntary AD&D have set amounts depending on the level of coverage you choose.  You can view the rates for all of these plans in the Benefits Overview Guide in the section regarding Life and AD&D Insurance.

You can see this via Banner Self Service.  Enter your Banner Self Service Employee portal.  Choose the Benefits and Deductions link (just to the right of the Leave Report link).  Click on Benefit Statement.  Use the default date of CURRENT and click Select.  This will bring up a statement that shows how much you contribute to each benefit each pay period.

If you are already enrolled in the plan, create an online account with the insurance carrier.  Once you are logged in, proceed with a search to find in-network providers.  Alternatively, you can contact the carrier by phone and ask for assistance.
 
If you are not yet enrolled on the health plan, then use the instructions in the Benefits Overview Guide.

Open enrollment is held once a year and is your opportunity to make changes to your medical, dental and vision plans. Official dates are typically announced in August and Open Enrollment typically begins in mid-September and ends in early October. Changes made during open enrollment take effect January 1 of the following year.

A qualifying life event is an event that changes your family or health insurance situation and qualifies you for a Special Enrollment Period. The most common qualifying life events are the loss of health care coverage, a change in your household (such as marriage or birth of a child), or a change of residence.

  1. Go to www.smartben.com.  
  2. Your username is your Banner ID, also known as your "G" number.  
  3. Your password is whatever you chose.  
  4. If you are unsure, you can use the Recover Password Link.  
  5. This will require you to enter your username and birthdate in this format: MM/DD/YYYY.
  6. Once you do this, SmartBen will email you with a link to reset your password.