ENROLLMENT FAQ

Introduction

Providing great benefit choices to you and your family is just one of the many ways PISD looks after the health and financial welfare of the people who make our district work so well. Our goal at PISD is to provide you with an array of benefit options that will meet your personal needs as part of your total compensation and rewards.

HOW DO I ENROLL?

Visit www.mybenefitshub.com/palestineisd

USERNAME: Enter the first 6 letters of your last name, followed by the first letter of your first name, and then the last 4 digits of your SSN. (EX: John Sanderson SSN: xxxxx-1234

USERNAME: sanderj1234)

PASSWORD: Complete last name (excluding any special characters or spaces) followed by the last 4 digits of your SSN. (Ex: sanderson1234)

WHO IS ELIGIBLE?

You are eligible to enroll in the PISD Benefits Program if you are a regular employee working at least 15 hours per week in a permanent position. All other employees, to include substitutes, who work less than 15 hours per week, are eligible to enroll in medical insurance at full cost.

WHO IS AN ELIGIBLE DEPENDENT?

Your legal spouse

Children under the age of 26, yours OR your spouse’s Dependent children of any age who are disabled

Children under your legal guardianship

When adding dependents for the first time, please provide date of birth, gender and social security number.

New Hire Enrollment

Online benefit enrollment must be completed within 30 days of your active at work date. Elected benefits will take effect on the 1st of the following month.

MID-YEAR CHANGES

The benefits you choose will remain in effect throughout the plan year (from September 1 - August 31). You may only add or cancel coverage during the year if you have a qualifying change in the family or employment status that causes you to gain or lose eligibility for benefits. Qualifying changes may include:

A change in your legal marital status

A change in your number of dependents as a result of birth, adoption, legal custody, or if your dependent child satisfies or ceases to satisfy eligibility requirements for coverage, or the death of a dependent child or spouse

A change in employment status for you or your spouse loss or gain of eligibility for other insurance (including CHIP & Medicaid)

You must notify the Palestine ISD payroll office of the requested change within 30 calendar days of the change in status. There are no exceptions to this rule.

WHEN WILL I RECEIVE ID CARDS?

Everyone enrolled in Medical will receive a new Medical Card. Enrolled participants will receive HSA and FSA cards prior to the effective date of the new coverage. For most plans, you can login to the carrier website and print a temporary ID card or give your provider the insurance company’s phone number to call and verify your coverage if you do not have an ID card at the time of service.

WHO DO I CONTACT WITH QUESTIONS?

For questions, you can contact your PISD Benefits Department

Gemma Funai

Office: 903-731-8048

Email: Gfunai@palestineschools.org

Marlene Freeman

Office: 830-606-5100

Email: Mfreeman@usebsg.com

Covering Dependents?

If you cover dependents on any of your coverages through PISD you must provide the dependents name, date of birth, and social security number. You must have all of this information before dependents can be added to the system.

Making Changes During the Year

Choose your benefits carefully. Several of the employee benefits plan contributions are made on a pre-tax basis and per IRS regulations, contribution amounts cannot be changed unless you experience a qualified life event. Qualifying life events include:

Marriage, divorce, legal separation; Death of spouse or dependent;

Birth or adoption of a child;

Changes in employment for spouse or dependents; Coverage changes;

You must submit your benefit change requests and include required documentation within 30 days of the event. Also note that per the IRS, only changes consistent with the life event are allowed.

New Employees

New employees must enroll within 30 days of their start date. If employees fail to enroll within 30 days, all benefits will be waived. Except for health insurance, plans will be effective on the first of the month following the date of start. Health Insurance can be effective the date of start or the first month following date of start. Please be aware that if you choose date of start as effective date for health insurance, you will be charged for the entire month.

Very Important

Please carefully review your paycheck(s) to ensure all deductions are correct. If you find a discrepancy in your paycheck, please contact Gemma Funai immediately at 903-731-8048. Discrepancies must be identified within the first 30 days from the effective date of the policy to be considered.

Benefit Related Documents

For contact information, claim forms, benefits guides, and more, please visit palestineschools.org.