Life Change Benefit Selection

New employees select their benefits when they are hired. Once you’ve chosen your benefits, you have the opportunity to change your options once a year during our annual open enrollment period.

You may also be able to make changes throughout the year if you experience a ‘qualified life event’ (such as getting married or having a child).

If you want to make a change following a qualified life event, log in to your online account or call 1-866-330-6555 within 30 days of the event.

As an employee of Smiths, you’re eligible for our benefits program if you’re employed on a regular full-time basis and are scheduled to work at least 20 hours per week beginning August 1, 2023.

Partners and dependents are also eligible for benefits as long as they meet certain requirements. This includes:

• Your legal spouse or registered domestic partner
• Children under the age of 26 (until the day they turn 26)
• Children of any age who have an eligible disability and are dependent on you for support (this can include your partner’s children). Dependents over the age of 26 must be verified by the Smiths Group Benefits Center.
• If your spouse or domestic partner (DP) has access to another medical plan including Medicare, there’s a monthly spousal/DP contribution of $300. It’s not assessed if your spouse or domestic partner does not have access to another medical plan.

The following events are examples of a qualified life event:

• Birth or adoption (or the placement of a child for adoption)
• Death of a covered dependent
• Divorce, legal separation, or annulment
• Relocation of a home or workplace (either yours, your partner’s, or your dependent’s)
• A significant change in the cost of your benefits
• A court order or administrative decree requiring coverage of a dependent child

This is coverage available to employees and their eligible dependents enrolled in the Smiths Group medical, dental, vision, FSA and EAP benefits. If you are off work on an extended leave of absence, or terminate employment this may be an option. For more information regarding COBRA please visit Continuation of Health Coverage (COBRA) | U.S. Department of Labor (dol.gov)

A percentage of a health care cost that a covered employee pays after meeting their deductible.

The fixed dollar amount that a covered employee pays for medical services.

A fixed dollar amount that a covered employee must pay before their plan will pay non-preventative health expenses. Plans usually require separate deductible limits per person and per family and are reset annually.

HSAs are accounts that employees can contribute to using pre-tax dollars to pay for medical expenses, whether or not the deductible has been met. No tax is owed on funds withdrawn from an HSA to pay for medical expenses. HSAs may be available to employees who enroll in a high-deductible health plan. Employers may also contribute funds to these accounts within the prescribed limit. HSAs are owned by the employee and the account remains with them after their employment ends.

An HDHP features higher annual deductibles than traditional health plans. HDHPs may have significantly lower premiums than a PPO, HMO or other traditional plan.

HRAs are accounts that employees can use to pay for health-related expenses. But unlike HSAs, HRAs can only be funded by an employer and those funds revert back to the employer when the employee leaves the organization. And unlike HSAs, HRAs are not subject to contribution limits and can be paired with either high-deductible plans or traditional health plans.

Doctors, clinics, hospitals and other providers with whom a health plan has an agreement to care for its members are designated as being ‘in-network.’ Health plans cover a far greater share of the cost for in-network health providers than for providers who are designated as ‘out-of-network.’

Doctors, clinics, hospitals and other providers with whom a health plan does not have an agreement to care for its members are designated as being ‘out-of-network.’ A health plan will cover treatment for doctors, clinics, hospitals and other providers who are out-of-network, but covered employees will pay more out-of-pocket out-of-network providers.

The maximum amount you pay each year for covered services. This does not include the money you contribute each pay period towards your healthcare costs.

A Preferred Provider Organization uses a network of doctors and hospitals that provide healthcare. You may choose providers in or out of the network, but you will pay a greater share of the expenses if you use out-of-network providers. No Primary Care Physician is required.

The amount an employee pays for a health plan in exchange for coverage. Health plans with higher deductibles typically have lower premiums.