Will You or Your Spouse Use Tobacco This Year? Let Us Know during Fall Open Enrollment!

Flash forward to October 20, 2017, right in the middle of this fall’s Employee Benefits Open Enrollment. You have thought it over and decided you are happy with your benefit plans and will not be making any changes. You do not need to do anything, right?

WRONG.

As part of Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) Wellness Initiatives program, if you are covered by an MCPS-provided medical insurance plan with CareFirst, Cigna, or Kaiser Permanente, you need to attest each fall during Open Enrollment to whether or not you and your covered spouse (if married) will be tobacco free throughout the current calendar year. If you or your spouse use tobacco or you do not attest to your and your spouse’s tobacco use, your contribution to your health insurance (medical, prescription, dental, and vision plans) will include a tobacco-user surcharge on the total cost of the health insurance, effective January 1 of the next calendar year. (For details, read “Remember to Take the [Wellness] Initiative to Save Money on Your Health Insurance Premiums in 2018” in this issue of For Your Benefit.)

To make your tobacco-use attestation, sign on to the online Benefits Enrollment System via Employee Self-Service (ESS) during this fall’s Open Enrollment (October 9–November 3, 2017), and select the appropriate response on the tobacco-attestation screen. If you are not making any changes to your benefits, you can attest more quickly by using the stand-alone tobacco attestation screen. This screen also will be available on ESS during Open Enrollment.