Conference 7.286::digital

    
    Also, Cigna was supposed to mail out certificates for those that
    got the additional optional insurance back in Oct. As per an email
    I received.
    
    No such certificate received by me.
    
    Anybody else?
    

    Optional Accidental Life Insurance rates - in case anyone had questions
    
    1.5 cents per $1,000
    3.2 cents per $1,000 
    

    
    
    	Yes, I got my certificate the other day, as did my husband who was
    	TFSO'd.  We fund his insurance separately.
    
    	Regards,
    	Diane

    I called last week; they said that they just went out.  More than 2
    weeks later than it had been announced.  As of 11/8 I still did not get
    mine.
    
    I found the whole life ins. info in the benefits document confusing
    since it was NOT personalized and was NOT part of Open Enrollment.

    re -.2
    
    What kind of certificates are these??
    
    Can anyone explain
    
    Suresh

    
      The certificates are issued by Cigna. They list the insurance that
    one selected last January ie: Uninversal Group and Personal Accident.
    
    
    
    
    

    The wonders of outsourcing... Talk about service, we enrolled last
    year and now in November we receive the policy certificates...

    	Neither my wife or I have received that certificate yet

    Joe

    I tried to call the PSN 800# last week, then tried the DTN # .
    All I got was a voicemail...anybody else have any luck ??
    

    The PSN is getting a *tremendous* volume of calls as a result of open
    enrollment and the reassignment of HRA's to a centralized admin center.
    The 7 people who staff the line (I know, I was one) for 30,000+ U.S.
    employees are taking calls as quickly as possible.
    
    j.
    

re:.0

You, Sir, have surely earned another point toward heaven.

I just rec'd my pkg yesterday with the certificates for both my wife and
myself and the policy books.

Did a quick double-take myself as I knew that I was supposed to have
the $50K because of my hire date.

After going thru the materials one more time a found a 1-page 5 1/2" x 8"
paper that's got the "rider" info on it explaining that...indeed...I
qualify for the $50K.

At least I hope that my interpretation of the "rider" was correct!

--Nick

    	How, exactly, does one use VTX to make medical coverage changes
    during this open enrollment period? It wasn't immediately obvious to me
    how to make actual changes. All I found was additional information on
    stuff.

On page 15 of the benefits booklet, it says that you need to submit the
authorization forms.  Only the reimbursement accounts can be enrolled in via
VTX.

						Brian

And since they're due Friday and there are no longer any local HR people,
I suspect there will be a lot of Demand Shuttle stuff for MSO.

    I agree. I kept looking for the information on how to use VTX to change
    my HMO. I finally found the correct page, only to learn I could only
    change the HCRA or DCRA accounts. I wonder if there is some legal or
    security reason we can't use VTX to make medical coverage changes. I
    thought the brochure implied we could make all changes through VTX.
    
    Also, I wondered if there was some way we could return unused forms. It
    seems a waste to me to toss out all these forms. 
    
    Fran
    

There's no legal reason we can't use VTX or some voice response system to do
this, my wife's company has been using a voice response system for several
years.

Bob

    If there was some way to get medical/dental enrollments automated
    (within the systems we have to work with) HR would've done so!!
    As a former HRA, I know that has been high on Benefits/HR's wish-
    lisy for several years.  And I'm sure given the number of HRAs that 
    have been downsized it moved up on their list of things to do.  But, 
    one of the other factors effecting HR is that a lot of their 
    IS/programming support is no longer with the company either...now, 
    who knows when/if that'll happen.
    
    Sue

Medical enrollment is more complicated than DCRA/HCRA because your options
depend on where you live.

    Can someone tell me how to get to the VTX page for re-enrolling in the
    dependent care program?  I can't seem to find it...

    
    Type VTX DCRA_US and I think it's the last option on the menu.
    
    Sue

    VTX DCRA_US.  The corresponding HCRA page is HCRA_US.  (Don't ask
    me why these aren't together....)
    
    					Steve

>Medical enrollment is more complicated than DCRA/HCRA because your options
>depend on where you live.


Well if VTX can tell me what health care providers I can choose from, based
on my zip code (which it can do), then why can't it enroll me as well???


HR will accept enrollment forms if you mail them by US Mail and have them
postmarked by *Nov 18*.  I just found this out by calling the People Support
Network.

The procedure is:
1. Complete the forms
2. Make a copy of the completed forms to keep for yourself.
3. Take the forms to a US Post Office and have it postmarked by Nov 18.

The mailing address is:

Digital Equip Corp.
111 Powder Mill Rd.
Maynard, MA  01754

Attn: HR Admin Ctr., MSO1-1/B4

    I tried DCRA_US last night (twice) and again tonight.  Although the
    amount I entered originally shows up the next time I enter DCRA_US, I
    have yet to get any Email confirmation.
    
    Is anyone else having this problem?

    
    Not DCRA_US, but I used HCRA_US and got a mail confirmation before I
    could clear the screen.
    

    re .25,.26
    
    Took me two tries in HCRA_US before I got the confirmation message. 
    There appears to be some kind of irregular glitch in the system.  There
    are instructions for what to do if you DON'T get confirmation by mail
    within a short time of your second try.
    
    /Butch

Also note that if you try it from a hidden node, you will not receive the confirmation.

    I have tried twice for DCRA and once for HCRA and not received
    confirmation for anything.  I am not on a hidden node.
    I have sent mail to grimly::ben_srv as vtx suggests.
    This makes me nervous ...

    I sent mail where instructed last night, got a reply early this morning
    from a support system who monitored the log files while I tried again -
    and of course, the confirmation came through.  I figure maybe the
    problem occurred in relation to the timing of my previous attempts (all
    at ~10-12 PM).  They reboot the system every night at 1:00, so all
    previous log files were gone (including the NMAIL log files).
    
    I also got mail from somebody else apologizing for the problem, and
    stating that _that_ mail would serve as confirmation.
    
    In all attempts, the entry had been processed, BTW - just no confirmation.
    
    Excellent response on my problem - kudos to all concerned.

    I'm confused about the $50K vs 1x your yearly salary life insurance.
    Is there an extra charge to go to 1x your yearly salary if that's
    greater than $50K?  If there isn't, why would anyone cap their
    coverage at $50K?  I couldn't find an explanation in the material
    I got sent, and before I could look more carefully, we moved...
    still looking for the package.
    
    	Thanks,
    	Larry

    Not an extra charge, but there is an unspecified amount which is
    treated as taxable income to you so you have to pay taxes on it.
    Since they don't tell you how much it is, you have no basis on which
    to make an informed judgement.
    
    						Steve

>    Not an extra charge, but there is an unspecified amount which is
>    treated as taxable income to you so you have to pay taxes on it.
>    Since they don't tell you how much it is, you have no basis on which
>    to make an informed judgement.

The "unspecified amount" is probably the market value (or some fraction) 
of the premium attributable to the coverage over $50K.
This amount varies with the age of the policy holder, and so might
be too complicated to present for its worth in making a decision.
For this, I'd take them at their word that it's a "small amount."
Perhaps someone can analyze their last year's W2 and figure out what 
it was for them and corroborate this?

- tom]