Enrolling and Making Changes

The University of Texas at Dallas Plan Year runs from September 1 to August 31.

Changes to your benefits can only be made during your Initial Enrollment 31-day window as a new hire or newly benefits-eligible employee, Annual Enrollment, or if you experience a qualifying life event or change of status. Benefits enrollment, including reporting a life event, must be completed online through My UT Benefits.

Enrollment Period and Description

Initial Enrollment

Initial 31-day enrollment opportunity for newly benefits eligible employees.

Annual Enrollment

Once-a-year opportunity for eligible employees and retirees to make changes to benefit elections in My UT Benefits. Open enrollment is July 15th – 31st of each year for elections that will become effective on September 1st (certain benefits may start later depending upon Evidence of Insurability (EOI) approval).

Life Event and Status Changes

Life Events and Status Changes that include but are not limited to getting married or divorced, having a baby, retiring, losing coverage elsewhere, or changing from full-time to part-time or vice versa, etc., allows you to make a mid-year change to your benefit elections outside the Annual Enrollment period. You have 31 days from the date of the event to report your life event online in My UT Benefits.

COBRA (Coverage Continuation)

COBRA (Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act) is a Federal law that provides the opportunity for a temporary extension of benefits where coverage under the plan would otherwise terminate.

Initial Enrollment

Insurance Enrollment

New hires and newly benefits-eligible employees are invited to attend the New Employee Orientation to learn about your benefits. Once all your onboarding tasks and all pending approvals are completed by your department, you will receive an enrollment invitation email with instructions on completing your enrollment online.

• All insurance elections are completed in the My UT Benefits online enrollment system, and must be completed within 31 calendar days from your employment start date or newly eligible date.
• Employees who are hired or become benefits-eligible between July 1 and Aug. 31 will have to complete dual enrollment: initial enrollment for the plan year in which they are hired/eligible and annual enrollment the future plan year.
• If adding dependents, you must upload proof of relationship documents, known as Evidence of Eligibility (EOE), to verify their eligibility. If adding dependents, your elections will remain in pending status until you upload your proof of relationship documents that will be reviewed and approved by your department’s designated Benefits Administrator.
• If you decide to waive the UTD medical plan because you have outside group medical coverage, and you qualify for the Premium Sharing Plan, you will be required to upload Evidence of Waiver documentation, verifying you have outside group medical insurance. Acceptable examples include a copy of your medical ID card showing your name and effective date, or a Benefits Statement.
• If you are selecting certain higher levels of life insurance for yourself or your spouse, you must complete an Evidence of Insurability (EOI). A EOI is a health questionnaire used by the insurance company to make a determination on your request for coverage. You have 15 days beyond your first 31 days in which to complete the online EOI questionnaire, but the election must still be made during your first 31 days. Faculty members who are paid over a nine-month period will pay insurance premiums, including UT FLEX, over those nine months.
• After completing your enrollment online, please review and save a copy of your “Confirmation Statement” found on your home page. Based on the timing of your enrollment and our payroll processing deadlines, your first paycheck following your enrollment may or may not reflect the changes. If you don’t see your insurance premiums on your first paycheck, please note your second check may be double deducted. All employees are encouraged to thoroughly review your earnings statement for accuracy and immediately contact your Benefits Administrator for any discrepancies.

Premium Sharing Plan if you Waive UTD’s Basic Coverage Package

If you choose  to waive UT SELECT Medical Plan due to coverage under another group health insurance program (i.e. spouse/parent’s employer group medical plan), or coverage under the UTD Student Health Insurance Plan (SHIP), you may be eligible to receive premium sharing credits of $362.90 per month for full-time employees (30 or more hours) or $181.45 per month for part-time employees (20 to 29 hours).

These credits can only be used to offset the cost of dental, vision and AD&D coverage. Depending on the plans you elect and number of dependents you add, its possible you can enroll in these benefits and have $0 out-of-pocket cost! To choose this plan, you would log in to My UT Benefits and decline the medical plans and choose the “Premium Share Credit Plan” option. You would then continue with your enrollment selecting your desired dental, vision and AD&D coverage.

After you saved your elections, you must upload proof of other insurance coverage such as a copy of your medical ID card, or Benefits Statement, via the Document Center no later than July 31. The document name will be “Premium Sharing Credit Document” with category as “Proof of Other Coverage.” Your coverage will be pending until your document is reviewed and approved. Once approved, the premiums will update to reflect the credits applied to your total monthly out-of-pocket cost.

Insurance ID Cards & Mobile Apps

Please allow 7-10 business days from the date of benefits approval to receive insurance ID cards by regular mail to your home address on file. To ensure arrival of ID cards and any insurance vendor communications, review your address on Galaxy for accuracy and update immediately if necessary. ID cards are mailed for medical, pharmacy, vision, dental, and UT Flex Healthcare plans. Please refer to the guides listed below for information on registering online once your benefits are active to download/print a temporary ID card, and access a digital ID card using the insurance carrier’s mobile app.

• BCBS UT SELECT & Express Scripts Temp ID & Mobile Apps 
• Delta Dental ID Card & Mobile App 
• Superior Vision Plans ID Card & Mobile App 
• UT Flex Maestro Member Registration

Retirement Program Enrollment

Please refer to our Retirement Programs page for information on enrollment in both Mandatory and Voluntary Retirement programs.

Annual Enrollment

Annual Enrollment is a once-a-year opportunity for benefits-eligible employees and retirees to make changes to benefit elections in My UT Benefits. Annual Enrollment for UT Dallas is held each summer from July 15-31. During this period, eligible participants may enroll in or change their insurance benefit elections, sign up for or re-enroll in UT FLEX, and add or remove dependents from their coverage plan.

The effective date for coverage elected and approved during Annual Enrollment is September 1 of the new plan year. If you do not wish to make changes to your coverage, your current insurance elections, except UT FLEX, will continue to the next plan year. If you want to enroll in or continue participation in UT FLEX, you must make that election online every year through My UT Benefits.

Some coverage requires additional documentation to take effect:

• Evidence of Insurability (EOI) – If you added or increased disability or life insurance, you must complete the electronic EOI application or print an EOI form and mail it to Dearborn National by August 15. If you have completed all EOI tasks and you want to inquire about the status of your approval, contact Dearborn National at 866-628-2606.
• Evidence of Eligibility (EOE) – If you added a dependent, you must upload Evidence of Eligibility in My UT Benefits by July 31.
• Evidence of Waiver (EOW) – If you made a change to waive medical coverage and enroll in the Premium Sharing Plan,  you must submit documentation of other group coverage in My UT Benefits by July 31.

To ensure the arrival of ID cards and any insurance vendor communications, review your address on Galaxy and make sure it is accurate. If not, please make the appropriate changes immediately.

Review your first paycheck of the new fiscal year in October to ensure that your coverage elections have been processed correctly. Email benefits@utdallas.edu to notify the HR-Benefits Team of errors within 31 days of receiving your paycheck. Errors will be reviewed and may require UT System Office of Employee Benefits review and determination.

Life Event and Status Changes

If you experience a change in your work or personal life, your benefits may also need to change. You have 31 days from the date of a qualifying life event (QLE) to update your insurance elections in the My UT Benefits portal. If you do not report your QLE within this 31-day period, your next opportunity to make changes will be during the next Annual Enrollment period in July, to be effective the following September 1. In order to report your QLE, you will be required to upload the following documents:

• Documentation that validates your life event (such as a court order, marriage certificate, divorce decree, or proof of loss or gain of insurance, etc.)
• Proof of Relationship Documents that support any added dependents (such as a birth or marriage certificate)

Examples of QLE’s include, but are not limited to:

• Marriage, divorce, annulment, or spouse’s death;
• Birth, adoption, medical child-support order, or dependent’s death;
• Significant change in residence if the change affects you or your dependents’ current plan eligibility;
• Change of job status affecting eligibility (e.g. for employees: from non-benefits eligible part-time to full-time, starting or ending employment, starting or returning from FMLA, or other)
• Change in dependent’s eligibility (e.g. reaching age 26, or gaining or losing eligibility for any other reason); or
• Significant change in coverage or cost of other benefit plans available to you and your family.
• Loss or gain of insurance coverage under the Medicaid or CHIP program.

Steps to Report your Life Event:

1. From your Galaxy page, click on My UT Benefits.
2. Once Logged in to My UT Benefits, click on “Life Event” on the left-hand menu on the home page.
3. Select the reason for change and enter the life event date.
4. The system will walk you through the steps and allow you to make changes to each benefit plan that is consistent with your life event.
5. Upload your supporting documentation and proof of relationship documents via the “Document Center” on the home page left menu.
6. Once you save your changes, your enrollment will remain in pending status until your designated Benefits Administrator reviews and approves your event.
7. Once your life event is approved, your new enrollment information will be sent electronically to the insurance carriers.
8. Print and save a copy of your “Confirmation Statement” from your home page for your records.

For any issues with reporting your life event via My UT Benefits, please email benefits@utdallas.edu.

Frequently Asked Questions

COBRA (Coverage Continuation)

COBRA (Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act) is a Federal law under which employees and their covered dependents have the opportunity for a temporary extension of medical, dental and/or vision coverage at group rates in instances where coverage under the plan would otherwise end. In certain cases, it may be possible to continue HCRA coverage. The employee or dependent is responsible for the entire premium for COBRA coverage plus a two percent administrative fee. Employees have a right to choose COBRA benefits when coverage is lost due to:

• a reduction in work hours, or
• termination of employment (other than for gross misconduct).

Coverage is extended only to those individuals covered at the time of termination and may only continue the level of coverage that was in effect on the day of termination, or a lower level of coverage. Covered dependents also have a right, independent of the employee’s right, to COBRA coverage. The covered dependent may elect COBRA even if the employee does not. A spouse or dependent child covered under an employee’s medical plan has the right to elect COBRA continuation coverage if they lose coverage due to:

• the employee’s death, the employee’s termination (other than for gross misconduct), or reduction in work hours, divorce, the employee’s entitlement to Medicare; or
• if a covered individual ceases to meet the definition of a dependent.
• the covered child dependent ages out at 26 (coverage good through the last day of the month in which the dependent turns 26, and coverage will automatically terminate as of the first of the month following)

COBRA Enrollment

When you or your dependent loses eligibility for coverage under the employee insurance plan, UT Benefits Billing will send you a COBRA Election Notice after your insurance has been terminated. To ensure that you receive this notice, please ensure that your email and mailing address are up-to-date. Learn about COBRA frequently asked questions (FAQs). If you elect COBRA coverage, you will send the application and payment directly to the COBRA Plan Administrator, UT Benefits Billing.

Portability

When coverage ends due to termination of employment, Portability allows Active Employees and their dependents to continue the Voluntary Term Life coverage by remitting premium directly to Dearborn National. Portability is not available to insureds who elect to convert coverage or whose coverage terminated due to retirement.

• The maximum age for coverage in force by Portability is age 65.
• Provided premiums are paid when due, coverage terminates the earlier of age 65 or the date the insured no longer pays the required premiums.

For questions and additional information about Portability, please contact Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Texas at 1-866-628-2606.

Conversion

Conversion allows Employees and their covered dependents to convert some of their Basic Life and/or Voluntary Life insurance to an individual whole life policy if any portion of their Life insurance terminates by remitting premium directly to Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Texas. Insureds who elect to port coverage are not eligible to convert. Provided premiums are paid when due, coverage will continue until the insured’s request to terminate coverage. For questions and additional information about Conversion, please contact Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Texas at 1-866-628-2606.

Long Term Disability Conversion

If you are enrolled in Long Term Disability (LTD) insurance and lose eligibility for the coverage for a reason other than retirement, you may be eligible to purchase the insurance under the group conversion policy. For questions and additional information about LTD Conversion, please contact Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Texas at 1-866-628-2606.

Related Links

• COBRA Information
• COBRA Rates & Payments
• Employee Benefits Team
• UT Benefits Plan Administrators
• Forms & Publications