Health Coverages

Faculty and staff members who are eligible for health benefits at Puget Sound include:

• Full-time faculty members.
• Faculty members who teach four units of course work, or meet an equivalent set of responsibilities, during the academic year.
• Visiting faculty members who teach three units of course work in one semester.
• Staff members who are regularly scheduled to work 1,040 hours per year or 0.50 FTE over the course of the year.

Enrolling in Coverage - Must Complete within 30 Days of Becoming Eligible

To enroll in benefits for the first time, please log in to Employee Navigator. Benefits elections must be made within your first 30 days of employment/eligibility. If you do not submit your benefits elections within your first 30 days of employment/eligibility, you will have to wait until open enrollment, which occurs annually each fall.

Changing Your Elections

To change your benefits elections due to a qualifying life event, please review the "Changing Your Choices During the Year" section of the benefits guide (linked in the Additional Resources section at the top of this page) and submit your request in Employee Navigator within the specified timeframe. Please note: You must submit documentation to support your request for a change due to a qualifying life event to benefits@pugetsound.edu within the specified timeframe.

Forms

• Affidavit of Marriage or Domestic Partnership Form (This form is required if you are enrolling your spouse, domestic partner and/or domestic partner's child for a benefit for the first time.)

The table below provides a high-level overview of the health coverages offered to eligible faculty and staff members. For additional information, please review the benefits guide (linked in the Additional Resources section at the top of this page) or the plan documents linked further down this page.

Other Options

• You or your child(ren) may qualify for coverage under Medicaid or CHIP. For more information about these programs, visit https://www.hca.wa.gov/.
• Other options are available to you under the Washington Health Benefit Exchange. For more information about this program, visit wahealthplanfinder.org or call 1.855.923.4633.

View a PDF of The University of Puget Sound Flexible Benefits Program Privacy and Security Policy and Procedures (PDF).

HIPAA Notice of Privacy Practice (PDF)

COBRA can become available to you when you would otherwise lose your group health coverage. It can also become available to other members of your family who are covered under the plan when they would otherwise lose their group health coverage. For additional information about your rights and obligations under the plan and under federal law, please review this general notice about COBRA (PDF), which is also provided in hard copy to all faculty and staff newly eligible for health care benefits. You may also want to evaluate other medical plan options in addition to COBRA, referenced on the Health Insurance Marketplace website and on this COBRA/Medicare Options flyer (PDF).