MAKING CHANGES TO YOUR BENEFITS
When You Can Make a Change
Due to federal laws, you can only make changes to your benefits throughout the year if you have an eligible work or life event, called a qualifying status change. When you have one of these events (such as a birth or going full-time), you have within 31 days of your event date occurring to make your benefit changes online and provide documentation. All benefits eligible employees can make changes to their benefits during each annual Benefits Enrollment period. When you make changes to your benefits during Benefits Enrollment (which is usually in November each year), the changes are effective January 1 of the next year.
Important COVID-19 NOTICE:
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In May 2020, the government temporarily extended the deadlines of when employees could make changes to their benefits for certain life events due to the various issues you may have or may be facing due to COVID-19. The extension applies ONLY to the following events: Adoption, Birth, Marriage, Spouse/Child/You Lost Coverage Elsewhere. If you have experienced one of these events since March 1, you have until 90 days after the federal government declares the national emergency caused by COVID-19 has ended to make your elections online and submit documentation. As of today, the national emergency is still ongoing, meaning you may still make changes to your benefits and submit documentation for events that have happened after March 1, 2020, if you have not already done so.
We strongly recommend you make every effort to make your changes online and submit documentation as quickly as possible, because the sooner you make changes online and submit documentation, the sooner your changes can go into effect.
If you have any questions, please contact Benefits Support at 1-877-698-4754 prompt 9 or THRBenefitsSupport@texashealth.org.
When Changes are Effective
In most cases, changes will be effective the beginning of the following pay period after your online election is complete and you submit acceptable documentation. However, coverage for birth and adoption is effective retroactive to the date of the event.
What Documentation You Need to Submit
Before your online changes can be approved, you need to send documentation to show your life event occurred, or to show your newly added family members’ eligibility. Click on the event that you had below to learn more about what documentation you need to send in by your deadline.
Qualified Status Changes
Life Events
Having a baby? Check out this guide.
- Marriage
- Birth
- Divorce
- Adoption
- Gain of other coverage (employee)
- Gain of other coverage (spouse)
- Gain of other coverage (child)
- Guardianship or legal custody of a child
- Loss of other coverage (employee)
- Loss of other coverage (spouse)
- Loss of other coverage (child)
Job Events
- Newly Eligible for Coverage (if you were not eligible for benefits and now you are)
- Part Time to Full Time
- Full Time to Part Time
Documentation to support your event and/or newly added family members is due within 31 days of the date your event occurred. See a list of acceptable documentation for your event and your eligible family members. Not sure what your deadline is? Check out this deadline cheat sheet. For a full list of qualified status changes and more details on what changes can be made with each event, see your Employee Benefits Handbook.
How to Make a Change Online
- Go to www.MyTHR.org.
- Click the “Benefits” tile.
- Click “Benefit Enrollment” if you have a job event and follow these enrollment instructions.
- Click “Life Change Event” if you have a life event and follow these enrollment instructions.
- Make your applicable changes to your benefits based on your event.
- Please know that according to legal guidelines, your changes must be consistent with the event you experienced.
- You must provide documentation within 31 days of your event date, or the changes you made to your benefits will not take effect.
- Not sure what your deadline is? Check out this deadline cheat sheet.
- Submit your documentation to Texas Health Benefits Support via email to THRBenefitsSupport@texashealth.org.
- Please include this cover sheet when submitting documentation.