Frequently Asked Benefit Questions

Benefit vendor web addresses can be found on our HRS Website at: https://www.boisestate.edu/hrs/benefits/vendors-web-sites/

Benefit forms can be downloaded from our HRS Website: https://www.boisestate.edu/hrs/benefits-forms/. Forms will be provided when employees attend or complete the online benefits orientation.

Employees may review their benefit information by looking at previous paystubs, found in Bronco Hub. Employees may also contact the benefits team for more information on their enrollment selection.

The health insurance information has your plan type, which is either PPO, Traditional or High Deductible and the family members covered under the plan. To make changes on your health insurance, you will need to complete the Blue Cross enrollment form.

The life insurance information shows what your plan is worth and who your current beneficiaries are. To make changes on your life insurance, you will need to complete the appropriate enrollment form. A link to the life insurance form is located under the main HRS Forms page, entitled “Basic & Supplemental Life Insurance Enrollment Form” or Beneficiary Form – Basic Life

The retirement information will show the retirement plan and percentage or dollar amount of the deduction. On the supplemental retirement plan, you may make changes if you currently or previously had an account. However, if this is a new account you will need to setup an account with the provider, print out the salary reduction form available on the HRS forms website,  and submit it to HRS to get the deduction started.

For more information about supplemental retirement plans, please go to our HRS website, Benefits section, https://www.boisestate.edu/hrs/benefits/retirement/

You may add eligible dependents to medical coverage at any time. If you submit an enrollment application outside of your initial 30-day eligibility period, coverage will become effective the first day of the month following the date you sign the application form.

When your eligibility for active employee group coverage ends, you may apply for continued medical and dental coverage under the provisions of the federal COBRA law. The coverage provided under COBRA is identical to that provided to active employees. You may elect COBRA for a maximum of eighteen (18) months. You have up to sixty (60) days from the date your active employee group coverage ends to elect COBRA coverage. To request a detailed information packet, contact the Office of Group Insurance at (208) 332-1860 or by e-mail at ogi@adm.idaho.gov.

The effective date is the first of the month following date of hire. If an employee enrolls after 30 days, then the effective date is the first of the month after you apply for coverage. The deductible year coincides with our fiscal year, which is from July 1 to June 30.

You can request additional Blue Cross cards be sent to your home address by calling Blue Cross at 1-800-451-8228.

You will need to complete a new Medical Enrollment Application adding the child’s name, plus the names of all dependents that are covered. This needs to be done within 60 days of the birth/adoption. The child will be covered as of the date of birth/adoption. Any applicable changes in premium amounts will take effect the first of the month following the birth/adoption.

You will either need to pay the claim and submit it to Blue Cross for reimbursement, or request that your provider delay billing Blue Cross until you have received your enrollment card.

Open enrollment is typically the month of May with any changes taking effect on July 1 of that year. Information will be sent to all employees the latter part of April or early May. Information is available at the HR Open Enrollment website.

Once we receive and have processed your enrollment application, your Blue Cross card should arrive at your home address within three or four weeks. You will receive two cards and both will have your name on them.

The contract for the plan year is available at https://ogi.idaho.gov/benefits-plans/.

Eligible Dependent means: (1) The spouse of the Enrollee and/or (2) the children of an Enrollee or Enrollee’s spouse, up to their 26th birthdays, unless the dependent child(ren) are eligible to enroll in their own employer based group coverage.

The term “children” includes natural children, stepchildren, adopted children, or children in the process of adoption from time placed with the Enrollee. The term “children” also includes children legally dependent upon the Enrollee or Enrollee’s spouse for support where a normal parent-child relationship exists with the expectation that the Enrollee will continue to rear that child to adulthood. However, if one or both of that child’s natural parents live in the same household with the Enrollee, a parent-child relationship shall not be deemed to exist even though the Enrollee or the Enrollee’s spouse provides support.

Log into the Blue Cross home page at http://www.bcidaho.com/. Enter your user name and password. You will then be able to navigate throughout the site checking on the status of claims, the coordination of benefits, ordering a new ID card and choosing many other options.

Yes. Blue Cross of Idaho pays up to $1,000,000 on behalf of an insured for all combined covered services.

No. You may elect to carry your dependents on medical coverage but decline coverage for dental. However, to re-enroll, there must be an open enrollment period for the dental plan. Although the medical plan is open every year, the dental and vision plans are only open every three years.

No. You will use your Blue Cross card for any medical, vision, or dental services. If you need new Blue Cross cards, please contact Blue Cross Dental at 208-363-8755.

Log into Blue Cross Dental at www.bcidaho.com. Click on members. If you have not logged into the system previously, click on Register now! If you have logged in before, enter your username and password. After you are logged in, you will be able to review the status of claims and your benefit information and eligibility requirements.

For all new dental plan enrollees, there is a 12-month waiting period for major care (crowns, bridges, dentures) and orthodontia services. Your time enrolled in a prior dental plan cannot be credited against the waiting period in the state’s dental plan.

No, you will not get a separate card for your vision plan. Use the identification number on your Blue Cross card. Note that the VSP number does not include the Blue Cross three-letter prefix (IDA or IDP).

Log into the VSP home page at http://www.vsp.com. When logging onto their website for the first time you’ll need to register by clicking on the “Members & Consumers” label. Then in the login box use the “Register now” link to create your username and password. First you will be asked for your Social or Member ID number. DO NOT use your Social Security Number. Instead, put in your full Blue Cross Member/Enrollee ID Number (Minus the 3 letter Prefix), full name and birthday, then click continue. On the next screen you’ll be asked to enter a username, password, security question, etc. for your account. A recommendation for a user name is the employee’s first and last name with no space. Example: Jane Doe. After filling out the rest of your personal information, your registration will be complete. If you encounter any problems or need customer service, call VSP at the number listed above.

PERSI Retirement: Download the form from http://www.persi.state.id.us/html/forms/RS_115_beneficiary_designation.pdf and forward the completed document to Human Resource Services at Mail Stop 1265.

TIAA: Changes can be made online at www.tiaa.org

VALIC Financial Advisors: Contact Jennifer Braun-Blanco at 208/859-2728

Principal Basic and Supplemental Life Insurance: Download the form from https://ogi.idaho.gov/wp-content/uploads/sites/113/2016/06/GP39859-9-Basic-Life-VTL-enroll.pdf and forward the completed document to Human Resource Services at Mail Stop 1265

The Basic Life Insurance covers 100% of Annual Salary, but not less than $20,000.

You can get a General Health Statement by contacting Office of Group Insurance at 332-1860 and request that they send the Health Statement to your home address.

If you do not enroll within 30 days of your hire date, you can still enroll in Supplemental Life. You will need to complete a General Health Statement that is forwarded to the Office of Insurance Management for approval of coverage.

NCPERS is a group decreasing term life insurance and The Prudential Insurance Company of America provides the coverage. The premium is $16 per month regardless of age. All active members of the PERSI retirement system who are actively at work may enroll.

You can change your address on my.boisestate or you can come to Human Resource Services and complete an address change form.

No.

Depending on your current information, a marital status change may affect your name, the Beneficiary information for your Life Insurance and Retirement account, your Health Insurance, Tax Withholding, and personal information. Please contact Human Resource Services at 208-426-1616 to determine which information needs to be updated and the procedures involved.

You cannot borrow from your mandatory retirement account. You may only borrow money from your supplemental retirement account. You will need to contact the Supplemental Retirement Vendor directly. Vendor information is available on the HRS website.

Yes. All employees are eligible to enroll in a 403(b) account or 457(b) with TIAA, VALIC Financial Advisors, or any other carrier that offers a supplemental plan at Boise State, even if you have your mandatory retirement plan with PERSI. These are pre-tax deductions that are taken out of every paycheck.

No. Only active participants in PERSI as their regular retirement may open a supplemental plan through PERSI Choice.

In 1990, ORP legislation was passed by the Idaho Legislature. PERSI actuarial projections to fund future PERSI retirees (Unfunded Actuarial Liabilities) were based, in part, on continued participation of current ORP participants and the employer contributions for this group. Therefore, in order to meet PERSI actuarial requirements, the legislation included a percentage, paid by the state (Boise State) payable to PERSI. This is called PERSI Amortization and the employer paid funds are applied to the long term investment of the PERSI plan. Employees enrolled in the Optional Retirement Plan do not get charged for the PERSI Amortization funds, and the funds are not being posted to an account in their name.

The plan year begins July 1 and ends June 30. You have until October 31 to make a claim for any expenses incurred July 1 through September 13. ie: Plan year beginning 7/1/10 and ending 6/30/11, claims must be submitted for expenses incurred between 7/01/10 and 9/13/11 by 10/31/11, or the remaining funds will be forfeited. The form for reimbursement is located at: FSA Claim Form .

Flexible spending accounts (FSA’s) are a way to pay dependent day care expenses and out-of-pocket medical expenses on a before-tax basis. Enrollment is during the regular open enrollment period for health insurance, typically the month of May, with an effective date of July 1. All employees may enroll if they are eligible for the State of Idaho medical plans and have completed 10 months of continuous state service as of the plan anniversary (July 1). The plan year is from July 1 to September 15 (15 months).

Employees and Spouses may utilize the fee waiver during the same semester. Both the employee and spouse each receive the benefit of $5.00 per credit, up to 9 credits a semester. If taking more than 9 credits, the employee and/or spouse would be responsible for the full tuition cost exceeding the 9 credits.

The employee and dependent child may utilize the fee waiver in the same semester, however, only one dependent child may use the fee waiver at a time. The spouse and dependent child cannot utilize the fee waiver in the same semester. ​

We encourage anyone using the fee waiver to submit the form before the deadline to avoid the $50 late fee, even if they have not enrolled in the courses yet. Please list the courses that you would like to enroll in, if those courses do not work out, a revised fee waiver may be submitted.

A fee waiver form must be submitted for each semester that the employee, spouse or dependent intends to use the tuition fee waiver.​

To avoid the late fee charges, you should turn in a fee waiver listing your “intended” classes prior to the deadline date. If you have to change any of your courses when you register, you will need to turn in a “revised” fee waiver.

Only one child per family may use the Dependent Child fee waiver per semester, even if both parents are employed by the University.

All Boise State University benefit eligible employees and their spouses may register for instructional courses during any academic period. Employees and eligible spouses may each enroll up to a maximum of nine (9) credit hours per semester. Boise State University waives all tuition costs for these 9 credits except for a $25.00 non-refundable registration fee per semester and a $5.00 per credit hour charge. Any special course fees (lab fee) will be paid by the employee.

The program will allow one dependent child of a benefit eligible employee who has completed five continuous months of service to utilize the fee waiver. The fee waiver may be utilized by both a dependent child and the employee in the same semester, however, if the fee waiver is utilized by a dependent child, the spouse would not be eligible to use the fee waiver in the same semester. The policy found at https://policy.boisestate.edu/human-resources/educational-tuition-fees-waiver-benefit/will provide details to answer most of your questions.

Fee Waiver for Employee

Fee Waiver for Spouse

Fee Waiver for Dependent