MontgomeryCountyMD.GOV

Open Enrollment is your annual opportunity to update or choose the benefit options that best meet your needs for next year’s benefit plans.

Changes you can make during Open Enrollment are:

• Enroll in the medical, Rx, dental, vision, Flexible Spending Accounts or Optional Life plan(s) for the first time
• Add/delete dependent(s)
• Change from one plan to another
• Drop coverage
• Increase/Decrease Optional Life insurance
• Increase/Decrease your FSA annual election amounts

Open Enrollment changes will take effect January 1, 2022.

The following employees are benefit-eligible:

• Permanent full-time
• Permanent part-time
• Temporary full-scope (Medical, Rx, dental, vision, and optional life only. Temporary full-scope employees are not eligible for FSAs.)

You can enroll the following family members in your MCG health plans:

• Legal spouses (You are not permitted to cover your ex-spouse.)
• Biological or adopted children, step-children, or children under your legal custody who are either under age 26 or registered and approved as an over-age disabled dependent through your MCG medical carrier.

You are required to provide the necessary documentation as proof that your dependent is eligible for your plan(s).  You must provide this documentation at the time of your enrollment.  You can upload these documents while making your Open Enrollment elections in self-service.

All of MCG’s carriers have an online provider directory where you can search for participating providers.  Please visit your chosen carrier’s website.  You can find a list of MCG carrier contact information HERE.

You can make your benefit elections/changes for 2022 online via employee self-service in "self-service benefits".

Need help? See the "Plan Materials & Resources" tab for written step by step  instructions that will walk you through step-by-step how to make your changes in employee-self service (ESS)*.

*If you are a Participating Agency employee, please see the "Enroll Now" tab for enrollment instructions.  Participating Agency employees do not complete elections in employee self-service (ESS). 

All benefit elections / changes made during Open Enrollment (September 20 – October 8, 2021 for medical, prescription, dental, vision, optional life insurance, and Health Care and Child Care flexible spending accounts (FSAs) are effective January 1, 2022. 

No. After October 8, 2021 at 5 pm (the end of the Open Enrollment window for 2022), you cannot change your benefit elections unless you experience a new “qualifying life event” (such as getting married or having a baby).

Consider your choices carefully; changes and corrections are not permitted outside of Open Enrollment without a qualifying life event. 

For more information on qualifying life events, please refer to the Summary Plan Description . 

No.  Once you make your elections during Open Enrollment (which ends October 8, 2021 at 5 pm for plan year 2022), you are locked into those selections unless you experience a “qualifying life event."

Examples of a qualifying life event include:

• Marriage, divorce, remarriage
• Birth or adoption of a dependent
• Death of a dependent
• Spouse’s loss of coverage under another plan
• Court-ordered custody of minor child(ren)
• Moving out of your plan’s network service area

You have 60 days from the date of the event to notify OHR of qualified status changes. 

Changes for life events are effective when all completed paperwork is received by OHR, except newborns/adoptions which are effective retroactive to date of birth/adoption (when reported within the 60 day window).

For more information on qualifying life events, please refer to the Summary Plan Description .

Your child(ren) by birth, marriage or adoption, can be covered by your medical, prescription, dental, vision, and optional life plan(s) up until the age of 26, regardless of their access to other health insurance coverage. 

Proof of your child’s eligibility is required upon enrollment.  For more information, see required documentation .   

If you have an over-age dependent with a disability, they can remain on your MCG plan(s) after age 26 if they are unmarried and incapable of self-support because of a mental or physical disability. 

• The child must have been enrolled on your plans prior to reaching age 26.
• You must obtain disabled dependent approval from your MCG medical carrier. Forms for determining your child’s incapacity and dependency can be obtained from OHR.
• After your plan makes the determination, it is your responsibility to provide the OHR Health Insurance Team with a copy of the medical carrier disability approval before your child’s 26th birthday.

If you are not making any changes to your medical, prescription, dental, vision and optional life elections, you do not need to take any action during Open Enrollment.  Your current elections will roll over for 2022 automatically. 

However, if you would like to participate in the Health Care FSA or Child Care FSA plan(s) for 2022 then you must re-enroll during the Open Enrollment window (September 20 – October 8, 2021 at 5 pm).  

Yes.  When you make your Open Enrollment elections in employee self-service (ESS), you will have the option to waive coverage for each plan. 

Please keep in mind, if you waive coverage during Open Enrollment, you will be locked into that decision for the plan year 2022.  You will not be able to make benefit changes outside of Open Enrollment unless you experience a qualifying life event.  Examples of a qualifying life event include:

• Marriage, divorce, remarriage
• Birth or adoption of a dependent
• Death of a dependent
• Spouse’s loss of coverage under another plan
• Court-ordered custody of minor child(ren)
• Moving out of your plan’s eligibility area

You have 60 days from the date of the event to notify OHR of qualified status changes.

Changes for life events are effective when all completed paperwork is received by OHR, except newborns/adoptions which are effective retroactive to date of birth/adoption (when reported within the 60 day window).

You can make changes to your elections in employee self-service as many times as you want during the open enrollment window, as long as you have your final elections in by 5 pm on October 8, 2021.

Keep in mind that your elections are saved as you go through each step of the process.  For example: whenever you click the “next” button, your most recent saved elections will replace any previous elections.  This is the case even if you do not get all the way to the confirmation page.

To help employees make informed decisions for themselves and their families, MCG offers the following additional tools and resources:

• A comparative  medical benefits at-a-glance chart 
• A comparative dental plan design chart
• A comparative Rx plan design chart
• 2022 rates: see the "Plan Materials & Resources" tab for rate sheet. 
• Open Enrollment Virtual Events:
  • Attend the Medical and Prescription comparison presentation hosted by MCG’s health insurance tean to learn about the differences between the medical plans and prescription plans.  Advance registration is required.  See the " Events" tab to register.
  • Attend a Question & Answer session with OHR or insurance plan vendor.  This year, you have the option to discuss general questions with members of OHR's health insurance team or speak directly with MCG's insurance plan representatives to address plan-specific questions. See the "Events" tab to register.
  • Watch pre-recorded plan-specific pre-recorded presentations that provide a detailed overview of each insurance plan and outline the many member services and resource tools available with each plan. Recorded presentations are available to watch 24/7!  Watch the videos at your convenience and feel free to share with your family members. Access the videos by clicking on the "Events" tab above. No registration is required.  

Visit the dedicated open enrollment website to access 2022 rates and other helpful information, including: 

• Rates for full-time regular employees (26 pay-cycles)
• Rates for 10-month employees (21 pay-cycles)
• Rates for full-scope temporary employees (monthly)
• Participating Agency employees should check with their employer to confirm rates per pay period.

Employees can use any computer, tablet or smartphone with internet access to make elections via employee self-service (ESS)/self-service benefits. 

Review the helpful ESS step by step written instructions to make your elections/changes online via self-service.  Instructions can be found in the "Plan Materials & resources" tab.   

• Please note, you will need your MCG sign-on ID and password to access self-service.
• If you need assistance logging into self-service, please contact the IT help desk at 240-777-2828, option 1.
• All employees are required to complete their changes online in ESS.  The following exceptions that will be permitted for the use of paper enrollment forms:
  • If you physically cannot access ESS because you do not have access to internet, computer, smartphone or tablet. 
  • If you are experiencing a qualifying life event during open enrollment (marriage, birth of a child, divorce, death of a dependent or dependent aging out).

The letter you received provides instructions for you to complete a paper enrollment form to submit your 2022 Open Enrollment elections. Please be sure to complete the form you were sent and return it to OHR during the Open Enrollment window (September 20 – October 8, 2021 at 5 pm). 

You may securely email, fax or mail your completed forms to:
OHR Health Insurance Team
101 Monroe Street
7th Floor
Rockville, MD 20850
OHR.HITS@montgomerycountymd.gov
240-777-5131 Fax

If you misplace the form you were mailed, please contact MC311 at 240-777-0311 to place a service request for OHR to mail you a new form.

• Each of MCG’s insurance plan vendors are hosting virtual open enrollment Q&A sessions that provide an opportunity to address your personal questions and concerns. Please review the "Event" tab and register to attend. 
• Watch pre-recorded plan-specific pre-recorded presentations that provide a detailed overview of each insurance plan and outline the many member services and resource tools available with each plan. Recorded presentations are available to watch 24/7!  Watch the videos at your convenience and feel free to share with your family members. Access the videos by clicking on the "Events" tab above. No registration is required.

The FSA enables eligible employees to use pre-tax dollars (up to the maximum) to pay for qualified medical expenses. If you would like to participate for 2022, you must enroll during Open Enrollment even if you are currently enrolled and would like to continue the same FSA elections.

How it works: Your annual elected amount is deducted from each pay period pre-tax and placed in your FSA. You can then use your FLEXEXPRESS debit card to pay for IRS eligible expenses. 

• Health Care FSA: You can contribute up to $2,750 pre-tax into a Health Care FSA for eligible health, dental, vision or certain over-the-counter expenses not covered by insurance. These expenses can be for you or your eligible tax dependents, whether or not they are covered by MCG health plan(s).  Your entire annual Healthcare FSA election amount is available for you to spend on the first day of the plan year (January 1, 2022).
• Child Care FSA: You can contribute up to $5,000 (per household) pre-tax into a Child-care FSA for child and adult day care expenses that allow you and/or your spouse to work. Your entire annual Child Care FSA election is available to spend as it is accrued from your paychecks. 
• Watch the Benefit Strategies pre-recorded presentation video for more detailed information.  You can access the video under the "Events" tab above.  No registration required.  Watch at your convenience.  The video is available 24/7!
• Review this FSA comparison chart for more information.

Putting pre-tax money from your paycheck into a flexible spending account (FSA) lowers your taxable income. The result? You pay less income tax. An example is shown below:



For more infortmation, w atch the Benefit Strategies pre-recorded FSA presentation video.  You can access the video under the "Events" tab above.  No registration required.  Watch at your convenience.  The video is available 24/7!

Active employees and/or their covered dependents are not required to enroll in Medicare Parts A or B when they become eligible because of age. While you are actively employed, your MCG plan remains primary. 

Once you retire from MCG, you can apply for Medicare part B during a special enrollment period within 3 months prior to or 3 months after your retirement date. OHR’s Health Insurance Team can provide you with a form to submit to the Social Security Administration to enroll in Medicare part B upon retirement. This form will ensure you are not charged a late entrant penalty.

If you want to speak to someone about Medicare and your County insurance benefit options at retirement, please attend a monthly seminar.

To learn more about when you should sign up for Medicare Part B, please visit www.medicare.gov .  

If you increased or enrolled in Optional Life during Open Enrollment, you are required to complete a Statement of Health (SOH) before your coverage can be approved.

Statement of Health (SOH), also known as “evidence of good health” is the process by which MetLife determines if you are healthy enough to be considered eligible for the amount of insurance coverage you are seeking. 

After Open Enrollment closes on October 8, 2021, please check your County email for correspondence from MetLife with a link to complete the SOH online.   You have 60 days from the date that you receive the email from MetLife to complete the Statement of Health for plan year 2022.  If you do not complete the SOH within 60 days, your coverage will default to your 2021 coverage (if any). 

If you do not have access to a computer, you can complete a paper SOH form and return it directly to MetLife within 60 days of applying during Open Enrollment.  Please do not send your completed SOH to the Benefits team as it will contain private and personal health information.  The paper SOH form can be found on the Open Enrollment 

Upon receipt of your SOH, MetLife will review and respond either with a request for additional information or an approval or denial within 30-60 days.

If you are approved by MetLife before January, 2022, your deductions will begin on the first paycheck you receive for January 2022.  If your SOH approval occurs after January 2022, you can expect your deductions to begin within 1-2 pay cycles after the approval is issued by MetLife. 

For more informtation, check out the SOH FAQ in the "materials" section of the Open Enrollment website.

Medical Plans: All employees enrolled in one of MCG's medical plans will receive new ID cards for the 2022 plan year.  ID will arrive within the first two weeks of January 2022.

Prescription Drug Plans: If you did not make any changes to your prescription drug benefits, you will not receive a new plan ID card. If you enrolled for the first time, you will receive a new ID card within the first two weeks of January 2022.

Dental Plans: If you did not make any changes to your dental benefits, you will not receive a new plan ID card. You will only receive one if you made a change to your dental benefits during Open Enrollment. New cards will arrive within the first two weeks of January 2022.

Vision Plans: If you did not make any changes to your vision benefits, you will not receive a new plan ID card. You will only receive one if you made a change to your vision benefits during Open Enrollment. New cards will arrive within the first two weeks of January 2022.

Flexible Spending Accounts (FSAs): Anyone who is enrolling in an FSA for the first time will receive an FSA debit card within the first three weeks of January 2022. If you re-enrolled in the FSA programs, you will not receive a new FSA debit card, unless your current debit card is about to expire. 

If you have not received your ID cards by January 15, 2022, please do not contact OHR. Instead, contact the carrier directly by phone or visit the carrier’s website to register and print a copy of your card. For carrier contact information, please click here:  Benefits Contacts .