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Staffing Adjustment Leave of Absence Health Benefits Coverage and Vacation Accrual

There is some confusion regarding continuation of health benefits coverage and vacation accrual while on a Staffing Adjustment Leave of Absence (or “Staffing Leave”/”Staffing Adjustment Leave” for ease of reference). Hopefully this will answer some of the questions that have been raised.

Continuation of heath benefits coverage

As stated in the Informational Bulletins that are posted when Staffing Adjustment Leaves are offered, health benefits coverage will end on the first day of an awarded Staffing Leave—with an exception. If a F/A has a trip that overlaps from the prior month to the awarded leave month, the Staffing Leave begins on the first day following the overlap.   This means your pairing must have some duty that touches the awarded leave month. (However, keep in mind that in order to not have your vacation accrual reduced by 1/12 you must have some paid time in the leave month. That requires duty beginning after midnight in the leave month rather than duty simply touching the leave month.)

For example, if a trip begins on the final day of the prior bid month, and overlaps into the second day of the leave month, the leave would officially begin on third of the month. Since the overlap would result in Worked TFP during the month of the staffing leave, health benefits coverage would continue throughout the remainder of the month.

If no overlap trip exists, health benefits coverage will lapse on the first of the month and a COBRA packet will be sent.  There are several options in this case:

  1. Complete the COBRA paperwork and submit it along with the appropriate payment to continue health care coverage.
  1. If the leave is only one month, complete the COBRA paperwork and mail it in promptly.  If health care expenditures during the leave are less than the amount of the COBRA payment, there is no need to pay the payment.
  1. Secure other coverage in the marketplace, or through a convenient union supported health care portal such as Working America Health Care (a joint partnership between Working America and Union Plus); their phone number for AFA members is 866-961-3297.
  1. If you have other coverage, there is no need to complete the COBRA paperwork.

If you have Recurrent Training or other Company required training during a Staffing Adjustment LOA, your health care coverage will re-start on the first day of training and continue through the end of the bid month.

We have been told that if the leave is 30 days or more, it will be necessary to call the Benefits Portal number (AON) when you return to work in order to restart your health care benefits. This is a fairly new procedure.

Vacation accrual

Vacation accrues each month that a F/A has paid TFP for that month. If there is no pay for the month, vacation accrual is reduced by one-twelfth (1/12).

If there is an overlapping trip, vacation will accrue during the leave month.

Scheduled vacation during a leave of absence is not automatically paid, and does not automatically result in vacation accrual for the following year.  For vacation during a Staffing Adjustment Leave of Absence, there are two options:

  1. Vacation days can be manually traded to later available days.  First it is necessary to find available open vacation time, and then call Crew Administration to request the trade to be processed due to the leave status.
  1. You may request that any of your awarded vacation days be paid to you on either the fifth (5th) or twentieth (20th) paycheck while you are on a Staffing Adjustment Leave.  The request must be made no later than seven days prior to the selected pay date. If you have requested that you receive vacation pay during the month of the Staffing Adjustment Leave, this will prevent your vacation accrual from being reduced by 1/12 for that month.

* * *

Questions? Contact one of your Local Executive Council (LEC) officers (ANC 30 | SEA 19 | PDX 39 | LAX 18 | SAN 15).

In solidarity,

Your MEC – Jeffrey Peterson, Brian Palmer, Yvette Gesch, Lisa Pinkston, Laura Masserant, Cathy Gwynn, Sandra Morrow, Stephen Couckuyt; and MEC Benefits & Retirement Chairperson Terry Taylor

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2016 Open Enrollment Information

Open Enrollment starts tomorrow (Monday, November 2nd). Your AFA Benefits and Retirement Committee compiled the following information in order to assist you with navigating Open Enrollment.

General Changes

 

  • Mailer will be sent to employee’s home addresses 10/15 to advise that Open Enrollment begins on 11/02/15.
  • Follow up emails will be sent as reminders through Outlook beginning 10/30.
  • A new tool will be added to the web portal. It is called “Alex,” and is a user-friendly tool to enter information, which will then enable employees to compare and contrast different health benefits options.
  • A ‘My Alaska Benefits-Annual Enrollment Tab’ will be added to the Alaskasworld website.
  • If desired, an employee can enroll or make changes by telephone.
  • This year, confirmation of changes/enrollment emails will be sent to employees in Outlook. There will be links in these emails directing F/As back to their selections in the portal, and their portal message folder if need be.
  • Employees may carry over up to $500 in unspent Flexible Spending Account (FSA) funds into 2016.

 

2016 Consumer’s Choice (Health Savings Account/HSA)

 

  • In Washington State only, the Premera Network will change from the current Heritage Network to the Premera Prime network. This only affects Washington. In Alaska, the Heritage network will remain in place. All other states use the Blue Shield network, which will not change. F/As should be reminded to check to see that their current health providers are also Premera Prime participants.
  • The company contribution will remain $1,000 for employee only and $2,000 for a family. This year all enrollees in the plan will receive an additional $500 company contribution to the plan for an individual and $1,000 for a family. This bonus is available during open enrollment only, both for those switching plans and for current Consumer’s Choice plan participants.
  • A new “HSA On-Demand” feature will be added to the Health Savings Account (HSA) website. It will be called “Click to Pay,” with a sign up and usage explanation. It will automatically draw funds from the employees account to pay bills, similar to an online bill pay service.
  • A change in the crediting and access to the company contributions will begin in 2016. Similar to a Flexible Spending Account (FSA), the company contributions will be credited at the beginning of the year. IRS regulations require than an employee’s personal contributions cannot be credited until the beginning of the month in which they were actually deducted, and transferred to the HSA account.
  • If an employee has prior year contributions and/or an investment balance in their account, their cash balance would be used first. Next, they could access their investment balance, and then the company’s contributions. This might prove very beneficial for someone who incurs a large expense in the early part of the year.
  • The Health Saving Account (HSA) statements will look different this year—more information will be added. A “HSA for Dummies” booklet will be posted on the website.
  • For prior HSA plan participants who become ineligible (due to Medicare, or other disqualifiers which are listed in the booklet), the Company will contribute $500 to a Special Purpose FSA, which can be used for dental and vision expenses, as well as medical expenses after the relevant deductible is met in one of the other AS plans.
  • The 2016 HSA limit is $6750 for an individual under the age of 55.

 

Premera PPO

 

  • For 2016 forward, the plan is no longer ‘grandfathered’. The plan will provide 100% preventative health care coverage beginning in January.
  • Like the Health Spending Account (HSA), the Washington network will be Premera Prime for 2016 forward.
  • Hospice and palliative care will now be covered even for non-terminal conditions when appropriate.
  • Over the counter medications in the categories of Flonase, Nexium, and Claritin will no longer be covered, but can be submitted as a Flexible Spending Account (FSA) claim with a doctor’s written prescription.
  • Up to 90-day prescriptions for maintenance medications can now be filled in retail stores as well as through mail order. There are some exceptions depending on the medication.

* * *

 

Questions? Contact your local Benefits Committee chairperson.

 

In solidarity,

 

MEC Benefits & Retirement Committee Chairperson Terry Taylor and your AFA Benefits Committee

AFA Alaska

Travel While on a Medical, Maternity, or Workers’ Compensation Leave of Absence

Our contract provides the ability to use on-line travel benefits while on a medical, maternity, or Workers’ Compensation leave of absence.  In order to use these travel benefits, you’re required to provide a doctor’s release that states that travel will not adversely affect your ability to return to active service.  This requirement is spelled out in section 15.J.1 of the contract:

A Flight Attendant on a leave of absence who wishes to secure on-line travel passes will coordinate such travel through Inflight management. In the case of a medical, maternity or Workers’ Compensation leave s/he must provide a doctors release specifying such travel will not adversely affect the Flight Attendant’s ability to return to active service. 

Due to the contractual requirement that you provide a doctor’s release in these instances, AFA recommends that you obtain a doctor’s release to travel when you go out on any of these types of leave if you intend to use your travel benefits and your doctor is comfortable providing such a release.

For more information about this requirement or travel while on a leave of absence, please contact your Local Benefits Committee or one of your LEC Officers.  You can find contact information at afaalaska.org/benefits.

In Solidarity,

Your MEC—Jeffrey Peterson, Brian Palmer, Yvette Gesch, Becky Strachan, Laura Masserant, Cathy Gwynn, Sandra Morrow, Stephen Couckuyt and MEC Benefits Committee Chairperson Terry Taylor

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Benefits Open Enrollment Website Q&A

A message from your AFA Benefits Committee

We’ve had a number of questions, and have heard that many of our group is confused about the purpose of the Benefits Call Center. Additionally, some have reported having trouble navigating the system and revising selections once they have made them.

This is a new enrollment process, so we compiled some of the more frequently asked questions to assist you through the process.  If you have additional questions, please contact an AFA Benefits Committee Member.  You can find contact information at http://afaalaska.org/benefits.

What information can be found at myalaskabenefits.com?

The new benefits web site, myalaskabenefits.com, is your one-stop shop for learning about, and choosing which benefits are right for you. The site includes detailed information about medical, dental and vision plans, as well as other coverage options like life insurance and optional short-term disability coverage.

Details are great, but what about tools? The site includes a number of “estimators”, including the Medical Expense Estimator (found in the Benefit Tools tab). It predicts healthcare usage, based on demographic data, and shows you what each plan will cost you, based on those assumptions. If you’d like to spend a little more time customizing those assumptions, you can tailor it based on your own known healthcare needs, or your own assumptions.  Before you make a healthcare plan selection, or choose to keep your existing plan, you should give this estimator a try – you will likely be surprised by how much money you can save yourself.

How do I compare the costs and coverage of the Premera PPO and Consumer Choice PPO plans?

For a good side-by-side comparison, log in to the enrollment screen. Once there, select “Make Changes” in the medical section. On the right side of the page is a button that says “Need Help Deciding on a Medical Plan.”  This will take you to a very detailed comparison of the medical plans.

When should I contact the Benefits Call Center?

The Benefits Call Center is currently available to help you with all of your 2015 Annual Enrollment questions. You should call a representative if you have questions about enrolling, health plans, life insurance, spending accounts, or simply navigating the myalaskabenefits.com site and using the available tools. The call center can also enroll you in benefits over the phone. Beginning January 1st, the Benefits Call Center will provide additional services such as answering general eligibility questions and assisting with mid-year status change events (i.e. adding coverage for a new spouse, child, etc.).

What are Advocacy Services?

Employees who need assistance with more complex issues such as claims payments, questions with an EOB, appeals or balance-billing (in the event you seek care from a non-network doctor) are transferred from the Benefits Call Center to an advocate who will provide you with expert assistance. Advocacy Services aren’t meant to take the place of your health plan’s Customer Service line, but they are an additional resource for you when you need it.

Can I make a change to my benefit elections while I am on leave of absence?
If you are on a leave of absence, as indicated in PeopleSoft, your next opportunity to make health plan changes will occur when you return to actively working. Upon your return, you will be automatically enrolled in the coverage that you had prior to your leave of absence. You will also receive an email asking if you’d like to make any changes to your benefit elections, with instructions on how to do that.

Please note, if you are continuing active healthcare coverage by utilizing your sick leave, you likely aren’t considered to be on a leave of absence in PeopleSoft. For those in this situation, you should make your health care changes during the Annual Enrollment period, which ends November 18th. If you aren’t sure what your leave status is, you should contact your Supervisor or Leave Analyst

Wondering about the need to designate a beneficiary through the Web Portal?

In the past, beneficiary designations were done via a paper copy.  This is the first year that there has been an electronic version.  All flight attendants should update, and review their beneficiary designations.

Does this change my 401(k) plan beneficiary?

No.  This might be a good time to review your designations, to make certain that they are up to date.  However, if you wish to make changes, that would need to be done through Vanguard, either online, or via the website.  Just login in, click on ‘Manage my Account’, and follow the instructions.

When I submitted my changes and went back to look at them, I saw that I still needed to add beneficiaries.  Is something wrong?

We have discovered that until you completely log out of the portal and log back in, the ‘red line’ indicating that you need to add beneficiaries will still be there.  If you want to double check, log out, log in and you should see that your changes have taken place.

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