Update on STD and Health Insurance

This post is an update on the Short Term Disability situation as it pertains to health insurance.

At today's State Employee Benefit Committee meeting we received important clarification about health benefits and short term disability. We discussed in the last post the potential for people waiting through the extended elimination period (60 days)for their short term disability might also lose their health insurance (state share). An eligibility rule for the state health fund says that employees who are on an unpaid leave for a month will not receive the state share of the health benefit.

The scenario is not quite as bad as we feared. If an employee has short term disability pending, then they will not suffer the automatic cancelation of state share stated in rule 5.11. Rule 5.13b allows health coverage (state share) to continue while the status is pending. However, if the short term disability is denied, then the employee would owe the cost of that coverage back to the state.

Thank heaven for small miracles.