Annual required compliance notices for employees.
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Women’s Health and Cancer Rights Act
On October 21, 1998 the federal government passed the Women’s Health and Cancer Rights Act of 1998. As part of our plan’s compliance with this Act, we are required to provide you with this annual notice outlining the coverage that this law requires our plan to provide.
Our group health plan has always provided coverage for medically-necessary mastectomies. This coverage includes procedures to reconstruct the breast on which the mastectomy was performed, as well as the cost of necessary prostheses (implants, special bras, etc.) and treatment of any physical complications resulting from any stage of the mastectomy. However, as a result of this federal law, the plan now provides coverage for surgery and reconstruction of the other breast to achieve a symmetrical appearance and any complications that could result from that surgery.
The following benefits must be provided if benefits are provided for a mastectomy:
- Coverage for reconstruction of the breast on which the mastectomy is performed.
- Coverage for surgery and reconstruction of the other breast to produce a symmetrical appearance with the breast on which the mastectomy is performed.
- Coverage for prostheses and physical complications resulting from any stage of the mastectomy, including lymphedemas.
These benefits are subject to the same deductible, copays and coinsurance that apply to mastectomy benefits under the plan.
Newborns’ and Mothers’ Health Protection Act of 1996
Group health plans and health insurance issuers generally may not, under federal law, restrict benefits for a hospital stay in connection with childbirth for the mother or newborn child to fewer than 48 hours following a vaginal delivery, or fewer than 96 hours following a cesarean section.
However, federal law generally does not prohibit the mother’s or newborn’s attending provider, after consulting with the mother, from discharging the mother or her newborn earlier than 48 hours (or 96 hours as applicable). In any case, plans and issuers may not under federal law require that a provider obtain authorization from the plan or the issuer for prescribing a length of stay not in excess of 48 hours (or 96 hours).
Gettysburg College - Notice of Privacy Practices
This notice describes how medical information about you may be used and disclosed and how you can get access to this information. Please review it carefully.
The Privacy Rule under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) requires your Health Care Reimbursement Account (HCRA) to keep protected health information private and to give you this notice of its legal duties and privacy practices for protected health information. The HCRA must obey the terms of this notice as now in effect. The HCRA can change the terms of this notice and the privacy practices it describes at any time. The change must agree with the Privacy Rule. Any change will apply to all protected health information held by the HCRA. If there is a change, the change will not happen until you receive a new notice describing it. You will receive your new notice either at work or at the mailing address that you gave your employer.
The Privacy Rule allows the HCRA to use and disclose your medical information in order to decide if you are eligible for benefits and to handle reimbursement claims and any appeals. Your medical information may be used and disclosed as a part of an audit or employee performance review so the Plan Administrator can be sure that these privacy rules are being followed. For example, your employer’s employees handling reimbursement claims will see your claim. The HCRA has hired a company to help it review claims and obey the laws for HCRAs. An employee of that company will review your claim. If there is a question about your claim, the employee’s supervisor will see the claim to determine if the employee made a mistake.
When the HCRA discloses medical information to your employer and its employees that handle HCRA matters, the information will be kept confidential. Also, the company hired to help run the HCRA and its employees will protect your privacy. Your employer agrees not to use or disclose the information for decisions about your employment (including fitness for duty determinations) or any other benefit or employee benefit plan. If an employee does not keep your medical information private, he will be disciplined.
If someone obtains, accesses, uses, or discloses your protected health information in a way not permitted under the Privacy Rule, the event will be investigated. You will receive a report of this breach if it compromises your protected health information.
If you do not give us a written authorization, the HCRA will not make any other uses or disclosures. Without your specific authorization, we cannot sell, use, or disclose your information for marketing or any other purpose. If your spouse or adult child files a claim without you, the HCRA will not discuss the claim with you without authorization from your spouse or adult child. An authorization can be revoked in writing. A revocation will not change anything the Plan has already done based on the earlier authorization.
Your protected health information rights
- You have the right to request restrictions on the use and disclosure of medical information used for claims or Plan operations. Your spouse and dependents may ask that their medical information not be disclosed to you. The Plan is not required to agree to the restriction.
- You have the right to receive confidential communications of medical information in a different way or at a different address, if you are in danger. The Plan will agree to reasonable requests. A reasonable request: (1) is in writing; (2) identifies the information; (3) states that disclosure of all or part of this information could endanger you; (4) tells how to handle the reimbursement; and (5) gives another address or other way to contact you.
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You have the right to see and copy your medical information. You will be allowed to see this information, except for one reason. If a licensed health care professional determines this will endanger someone, you will be denied access. Your request must be in writing and can only apply to records held by the Plan. You do not have the right under these rules to see or copy health information in your employment file.
The Plan will respond in 30 days after receipt of the request. If the information is not on-site, the Plan will tell you in 30 days and will provide the information in 60 days of the request. If this cannot be done, the Plan will explain the reasons for the delay in writing and will give you the date by which it will provide the information. It cannot delay beyond this date.
You can see your medical information during normal business hours at a place named by the Plan Administrator. If you request copies, the Plan will charge $0.25 per page plus the cost of mailing. If the Plan does not have the information, and it knows where to find the information, it will tell you.
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You have the right to amend your medical information. Since the Plan does not create this information, you should contact your health care provider to change your medical information and send the amended information to the Plan. However, if the creator of the medical information is not available, you may file a written amendment request with the Plan. The request must explain why you believe the information creator is not available and why the change is necessary. If the information is not a part of its records or if it determines the current information on file is accurate and complete, the Plan will deny the request.
The Plan will respond in 60 days after receipt of the request. If your request cannot be met in 60 days, the Plan will explain the reasons for the delay in writing and will give you the date by which it will respond. This date cannot be more than 90 days after your request. It cannot delay beyond this date.
If the Plan agrees, in whole or in part, it will tell you, identify the affected records, and attach the amendment to them. If you tell the Plan to tell anyone else, it will make reasonable efforts to send the amendment within a reasonable time to those persons. It will also tell the company handling claims.
If the Plan denies the request, in whole or in part, it will give you a written denial that states: (1) the reason; (2) how to send a written statement disagreeing with the denial; and (3) how to complain to the Plan or to the Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services. If you do not send a statement of disagreement, you may ask the Plan to include your amendment request and the denial with any future disclosures of the medical information. The Plan may write a rebuttal to your statement of disagreement. If there is a rebuttal, the Plan must send you a copy.
- You have the right to receive a record of medical information disclosures that have been made within the last 6 years. This record will not include disclosures to you or any you agreed to by an authorization form. The record will exclude disclosures to the company handling claims and to your employer that were made as a part of handling a claim. If you request more than one report in the same 12-month period, the Plan will charge a fee after the first report of $25 per report.
- You have the right to get a copy of this notice from the Plan by just asking.
If you believe your privacy rights have been violated, you may file a written complaint with the Contact Person. To file a complaint with the Plan hand-deliver or mail it to the address below. Please be as specific as possible and include any evidence you may have. Neither your employer nor the Plan will retaliate against you for filing a complaint.
If you do not get a response to your complaint in 30 days or if for any reason you do not feel comfortable filing your complaint with the Contact Person, contact the:
Vice-President of Human Resources for your employer
By law you can file a complaint with the Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services. You may obtain further information regarding this option from your Office for Civil Rights (OCR) regional office or the web at http://www.hhs.gov/ocr/privacy/hipaa/complaints/index.html. OCR complaints should be filed within 180 days of the occurrence.
You may request more information from the Contact Person:
Jennifer Lucas
Gettysburg College
300 N. Washington Street
Gettysburg, PA 17325
Telephone: 717-337-6207
HIPAA Special Enrollment Notice
This notice is being provided so that you understand your right to apply for group health insurance coverage outside of the annual open enrollment period. You should read this notice regardless of whether or not you are currently covered under the Group Health Plan. The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) requires that employees be allowed to enroll themselves and/or their dependent(s) in an employer’s Group Health Plan under certain circumstances, described below, provided that the employee notified the employer within 30 days of the occurrence of any following events:
- Loss of health coverage under another employer plan (including exhaustion of COBRA coverage);
- Acquiring a spouse through marriage; or
- Acquiring a dependent child through birth, adoption, placement for adoption or foster care placement.
Effective April 1, 2009, the Children’s Health Insurance Program Reauthorization Act of 2009 creates two new special enrollment rights for employees and/or their dependents. In addition to the special enrollment rights set forth above, all group health plans must also permit eligible employees and their dependent(s) to enroll in an employer plan if the employee requests enrollment under the group health plan within 60 days of the occurrence of following events:
- Loss of coverage under Medicaid or a state child health plan: If you or your dependent(s) lose coverage under Medicaid or a state child health plan, you may request to enroll yourself and/or your dependent(s) in our group health plan not later than 60 days after the date coverage ends under Medicaid or the state child health plan.
- Gaining eligibility for coverage under Medicaid or a state child health plan: If you and/or your dependent(s) become eligible for financial assistance from Medicaid or a state child health plan, you may request to enroll yourself and/or your dependent(s) under our group health plan, provided that your request is made not later than 60 days after the date that Medicaid or the state child health plan determines that you and/ or your dependent(s) are eligible for such financial assistance. If you and/or your dependent(s) are currently enrolled in our group health plan, you have the option of terminating your and/or your dependent’s (s’) enrollment in our group health plan and enroll in Medicaid or a state child health plan.
Please note that once you terminate your enrollment in our group health plan, your dependent’s (s’) enrollment will be also terminated.
Failure to notify us of your loss or gain of eligibility for coverage under Medicaid or a state child health plan within 60 days, will prevent you from enrolling in our plans and/or making any changes to your coverage elections until our next open enrollment period.
To request special enrollment, or if you have questions regarding special enrollment rights, please contact the Human Resources Department.
Premium Assistance Under Medical and the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP)
If you or your children are eligible for Medicaid or CHIP and you’re eligible for health coverage from your employer, your state may have a premium assistance program that can help pay for coverage, using funds from their Medicaid or CHIP programs. If you or your children aren’t eligible for Medicaid or CHIP, you won’t be eligible for these premium assistance programs but you may be able to buy individual insurance coverage through the Health Insurance Marketplace. For more information, visit www.healthcare.gov.
If you or your dependents are already enrolled in Medicaid or CHIP and you live in a State listed below, contact your State Medicaid or CHIP office to find out if premium assistance is available.
If you or your dependents are NOT currently enrolled in Medicaid or CHIP, and you think you or any of your dependents might be eligible for either of these programs, contact your State Medicaid or CHIP office or dial 1-877-KIDS NOW or www.insurekidsnow.gov to find out how to apply. If you qualify, ask your state if it has a program that might help you pay the premiums for an employer-sponsored plan.
If you or your dependents are eligible for premium assistance under Medicaid or CHIP, as well as eligible under your employer plan, your employer must allow you to enroll in your employer plan if you aren’t already enrolled. This is called a “special enrollment” opportunity, and you must request coverage within 60 days of being determined eligible for premium assistance. If you have questions about enrolling in your employer plan, contact the Department of Labor at www.askebsa.dol.gov or call 1-866-444-EBSA (3272).
If you live in one of the following states, you may be eligible for assistance paying your employer health plan premiums. The following list of states is current as of July 31, 2023. Contact your State for more information on eligibility –
To see if any other states have added a premium assistance program since July 31, 2023, or for more information on special enrollment rights, contact either:
U.S. Department of Labor
Employee Benefits Security Administration
www.dol.gov/agencies/ebsa
866-444-3272 (EBSA)
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services
www.cms.hhs.gov
877-267-2323, Menu Option 4, Ext. 61565
Paperwork Reduction Act Statement
According to the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (Pub. L. 104-13) (PRA), no persons are required to respond to a collection of information unless such collection displays a valid Office of Management and Budget (OMB) control number. The Department notes that a Federal agency cannot conduct or sponsor a collection of information unless it is approved by OMB under the PRA, and displays a currently valid OMB control number, and the public is not required to respond to a collection of information unless it displays a currently valid OMB control number. See 44 U.S.C. 3507. Also, notwithstanding any other provisions of law, no person shall be subject to penalty for failing to comply with a collection of information if the collection of information does not display a currently valid OMB control number. See 44 U.S.C. 3512.
The public reporting burden for this collection of information is estimated to average approximately seven minutes per respondent. Interested parties are encouraged to send comments regarding the burden estimate or any other aspect of this collection of information, including suggestions for reducing this burden, to the U.S. Department of Labor, Employee Benefits Security Administration, Office of Policy and Research, Attention: PRA Clearance Officer, 200 Constitution Avenue, N.W., Room N-5718, Washington, DC 20210 or email ebsa.opr@dol.gov and reference the OMB Control Number 1210-0137.