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Home My WebLink About20090761.tiffRESOLUTION RE: APPROVE MEMORANDUM OF UNDERSTANDING FOR ADDITIONAL COBRA SERVICES AND AUTHORIZE CHAIR TO SIGN - GREAT -WEST HEALTHCARE (CIGNA) WHEREAS, the Board of County Commissioners of Weld County, Colorado, pursuant to Colorado statute and the Weld County Home Rule Charter, is vested with the authority of administering the affairs of Weld County, Colorado, and WHEREAS, the Board has been presented with a Memorandum of Understanding for Additional COBRA Services between the County of Weld, State of Colorado, by and through the Board of County Commissioners of Weld County, on behalf of the Department of Human Resources, and Great -West Healthcare (CIGNA), commencing upon full execution, and ending December 31, 2009, with further terms and conditions being as stated in said memorandum, and WHEREAS, after review, the Board deems it advisable to approve said memorandum, a copy of which is attached hereto and incorporated herein by reference. NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED by the Board of County Commissioners of Weld County, Colorado, that the Memorandum of Understanding for Additional COBRA Services between the County of Weld, State of Colorado, by and through the Board of County Commissioners of Weld County, on behalf of the Department of Human Resources, and Great -West Healthcare (CIGNA) be, and hereby is, approved. BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED by the Board that the Chair be, and hereby is, authorized to sign said memorandum. The above and foregoing Resolution was, on motion duly made and seconded, adopted by the following vote on the 30th .j, March, A.D., 2009. ATTEST: 141, Weld County Clerk to the BY ,11, 11/21lP1O7�� i Dep y Cler to the BoardJ y Attorney Date of signature LiI rrl Cf BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS ELD COU•_W COLORADO Iliam F. Garcia, Chair c, sikkA Dousy glas �ademach r, Pro-Tem Sean P. Conway V arbara Kirkmeve David E. Long fyir- C0 PE,GLA) t4 2009-0761 PE0027 ov 71yOve7 286 (,RLAl \VISI it All II(:;AR1. MEMORANDUM OF UNDERSTANDING CIGNA March 17, 2009 Weld County Government PO Box 758 915 10th St Greeley, CO 80631-1117 Re: Additional COBRA Services Rendered Pursuant to the ARRA Plan Name Weld County Government Plan Number 358610 Effective Date of MOU March 1, 2009 Dear Weld County Government: This Memorandum of Understanding ("MOU") sets forth the arrangement by which Great -West Healthcare, now part of CIGNA, ("Great -West") agrees to assist in administering certain notice requirements for Weld County Government("Plan"), pursuant to the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act ("ARRA"), which became effective on February 17, 2009. This MOU is being documented by Great -West on behalf of the Plan, and it, along with the COBRA ASA in place between the parties, now made a part of this MOU, confirms the terms and conditions upon which Great -West will provide its services. Nothing in this MOU is intended to be legal advice to the Plan concerning the ARRA or the requirements contained therein. The ARRA requires employers to notify eligible individuals involuntarily terminated between Sept. 1, 2008 and Dec. 31, 2009 of their right to elect the COBRA premium assistance subsidy contained therein if certain conditions are met. This MOU states that Great -West will assist the Plan in meeting these requirements, as described below. The parties to this MOU remain bound to the terms and conditions contained in the COBRA ASA between the parties, which forms a part of this MOU. A. Duties and Responsibilities 1. The Plan will be receiving a list of all terminated members between 9/1/08 and 2/28/09. The Plan must review that list and determine its accuracy. Great -West will not be responsible for verifying the accuracy or completeness of the list provided. Only those terminated employees shown on the list will receive notices 2. For individuals terminated between 9/1/08 and 2/28/09, Great -West will send COBRA premium assistance notices to all members terminated during this timeframe, as identified by the above -referenced list from the Plan. 3. For individuals terminated beginning 3/1/09 and going forward, Great -West will provide COBRA premium assistance notice templates ("QE Supplemental Notice") to the Plan. It is then the Plan's responsibility to provide the QE Supplemental Notice to any involuntarily terminated employee the Plan determines to be an assistance eligible individual ("AEI"). Great -West will continue to provide the standard Qualifying Event Notice separately to those individuals per the normal automated process. The AEI will then submit the QE Supplemental Notice to Great -West and Great - West will utilize those documents to identify the AEls in the billing system. 2009-0761 4. Great -West will only be responsible for those notices specifically referenced above. All other requirements under the ARRA remain the responsibility of the Plan, including but not limited to reporting required by the ARRA. B. Fees There will be no charge for the additional services listed in this MOU. C. Plan Enrollment Option 1. The ARRA provides that a Plan may choose to provide AEls the right to change medical plans from the medical plan offered at the time of the original qualifying event to any health plan option offered to active employees and that has premiums of the same or lesser cost. Plans are not obligated to allow this change. 2. The Plan must indicate below whether it will be offering the Plan Enrollment Option to its AEIs. Note that if the Plan chooses to offer this option, the Plan must cooperate with Great -West in obtaining all necessary information to load this information into its systems. D. Fiduciary Responsibilities and Indemnification The Plan acknowledges that Great -West will not be deemed or understood to be an ERISA plan administrator or fiduciary and that Great -West has no responsibility of any kind for requirements contained in the ARRA other than those responsibilities expressly described within this MOU. 2. Notwithstanding any provision of this MOU to the contrary, if Plan, or its designee, fails to provide Great -West with accurate eligibility information, or other agreed -upon information, in Great -West's standard timeframe and format, Great -West shall have no liability under this MOU for any act or omission by Great -West, or its employees, affiliates, subcontractors, agents or representatives, directly or indirectly caused by such failure. 3. In the event Great -West, its officers, directors, employees or agents are made parties to any judicial or administrative proceeding arising in whole or in part out of any negligence or willful misconduct by the Plan, its officers, directors, employees or agents, in the performance of its duties under the ARRA, then Plan shall indemnify and hold Great -West harmless for any and all judgments, settlements, and costs, including attorneys' fees that Great -West incurs or pays in connection therewith, except that Plan shall not be required to reimburse Great - West for such amounts if the court rendering the judgment or the agency making the award determines that the liability underlying the judgment or award (or attorneys' fees with respect thereto) was caused by the negligence, fraud or criminal conduct of Great -West, its agents, employees, officers or directors. E. Term and Termination 1. This MOU will remain in effect until 12/31/09. At that time, the parties may negotiate an extension to the MOU, as well as its terms and conditions, upon mutual consent of both Plan and Great -West, and dependent on the status of the COBRA premium assistance provisions of the ARRA. 2. Either party may terminate this MOU without cause with 60 days written notice to the other party. 3. Any termination of this MOU will not affect the existing COBRA ASA between the Plan and Great -West. F. Manner and Timing of Election If the Plan chooses to elect these additional COBRA services, this MOU must be signed by the Plan, then scanned and emailed to COBRAStimulus7atwl.com by April 3, 2009. If the Plan cannot scan and email, the alternative manner of return is via US Mail to: Great West Healthcare 8505 E. Orchard Rd Attn: COBRA Stimulus Department 4T1 Greenwood Village, CO 80111 Note that, if mailed, the deadline is receipt by April 3, 2009. Failure to return a signed MOU by this date, and in the manner provided, constitutes a determination by the Plan not to elect these additional services. In that event, all notice responsibilities under the ARRA remain the responsibility of the Plan. Plan Enrollment Option Selection: Please check one of the following based upon Section C above: I/ Yes, the Plan will be offering the Plan Enrollment Option to AEIs. Plan understands and acknowledges its duty to cooperate with Great -West in the implementation of this provision. No, the Plan will not be offering the Plan Enrollment Option to AEls. No further information regarding the Option is required to be sent to Great -West. By signing this MOU, Plan understands that this is a binding agreement which supplements and is in addition to its existing COBRA ASA with Great -West. Plan is further acknowledging its obligations under the MOU and is choosing to elect Great -West's notice assistance. The undersigned agree to all terms of this agreement. Plan Number 35861jJ Plan Signature :{,i' Name William . Garcia, Chair Date 03/30/2009 We reference CIGNA and Great -West Healthcare to accommodate all members. CIGNA members. please disregard Great -West Healthcare references. "CIGNA" and the --Tree of Life logo arc registered service marks of CIGNA Intellectual Property. Inc., licensed for use by CIGNA Corporation and its operating subsidiaries. All products and services are provided exclusively by such operating subsidiaries and not by CIGNA Corporation. Such operating subsidiaries include Connecticut General Life Insurance Company (CGLIC). CIGNA Behavioral I lealth, Inc., Intracorp. and HMO or service company subsidiaries of CIGNA Health Corporation and CIGNA Dental Health. Inc. In California, HMO plans are offered by Great -West Healthcare of California, Inc. All other medical plans in California are insured or administered by CGLIC. CGLIC has acquired the business of Great -West Healthcare from Great -West Life & Annuity Insurance Company (-G W LA" ). Certain products continue to be provided by G W LA (Life, Accident and Disability, and Excess Loss). G W LA is not licensed to do business in New York. In New York. these products are sold by G W LA's subsidiary, First Great - West Life & Annuity Insurance Company, White Plains. N.Y. Rights in all marks arc reserved by their respective owners. 826943 ©Copyright 2009 by CIGNA 286 March 17, 2009 • ** • "**AUTO**}DIGIT 806 Weld County Government PO Box 758 915 I0th St Greeley, CO 80631- I 1 17 IInIJhmllnnllunlhnlluJlndllud>,nILLLI Dear COBRA Administrator: As you may know, on Feb. 17, 2009, President Obama signed the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) into law. This legislation provides a 65 percent COBRA Premium Assistance Subsidy to eligible individuals who were involuntarily terminated between Sept. 1, 2008, and Dec. 31, 2009. Pursuant to the ARRA, notification requirements concerning the COBRA Premium Assistance Subsidy are the responsibility of the employer. However, Great -West Healthcare, now part of CIGNA, is offering to assist in the notification to eligible employees of the COBRA Premium Assistance Subsidy. This is an additional service to the existing COBRA ASA currently in place between your plan and Great -West Healthcare. Assuming timely response to the conditions below, these notices will be provided on or before Apr. 17, 2009. There will be no additional charge for these services. If you wish to elect our notification service, please do the following by Apr. 3, 2009: 1) Included in this mailing is a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU). Please read the MOU and choose whether you wish to allow an eligible individual to utilize the Plan Enrollment Option under the ARRA. Note that if you choose to allow the Plan Enrollment Option provision of the ARRA, we will require further information in the near future regarding what plans are impacted. 2) Sign the MOU, then scan and email to COBRAStimulus@gwl.com. If you cannot scan and email, please mail to: Great -West Healthcare 8505 E. Orchard Rd Attn: COBRA Stimulus Department 4T1 Greenwood Village, CO 80111 3) You will receive a confirmation receipt of the MOU within 48 hours. 4) Soon, you will receive a list of members terminated between Sept. 1, 2008, and Feb. 28, 2009, via secure email. Please review the list of terminated members to verify its accuracy. If the signed MOU is not received in the manner described above by Apr. 3, 2009, it will be construed as confirmation that you are choosing not to elect this notification service. If you choose not to elect our notification service, all responsibilities under the ARRA remain yours. You can find plan enrollment options as well as a sample employee notification at the Department of Labor website: lutp://www.dol.goviebsa/cobra.html. Please call your existing Plan Services Representative at 1-800-753-9150 or 1-866-866- 6622 with questions or concerns. Sincerely, Great -West Healthcare Now part of CIGNA, COBRA Administration We reference CIGNA and Great -West Ileahhcare to acronanodate all member's_ CIGNA members, please disregard Great -West Healthcare references. "CIGNA" and the "Tree of Life" logo are registered service marks of CIGNA Intellectual Property, Inc., licensed for use by CIGNA Corporation and its operating subsidiaries. All products and services are provided exclusively by such operating subsidiaries and not by CIGNA Corporation. Such operating subsidiaries include Connecticut General Life Insurance Company (CGLIC), CIGNA Behavioral Health. Inc., Intracorp, and HMO or service company subsidiaries of CIGNA Health Corporation and CIGNA Dental Health, Inc. In California, HMO plans are offered by Great -West Healthcare of California, Inc. All other medical plans in California are insured or administered by CGLIC. CGLIC has acquired the business of Great -West Healthcare from Great -West Life & Annuity Insurance Company ("GWLA"). Certain products continue to be provided by GWLA (Life, Accident and Disability, and Excess Loss), GWLA is not licensed to do business in New York, In New York, these products are sold by GWLA's subsidiary, First Great - West Life & Annuity Insurance Company, White Plains, N.Y. Rights in all marks are reserved by their respective owners. 826941 © Copyright 2009 by CIGNA Hello