Post-Employment Health Plan: My Experience as a Former County Employee
What is the PEHP?
One benefit to SLOCEA members that often goes unnoticed is the Post-Employment Health Plan (PEHP), also known as VEBA (Voluntary Employee Beneficiary Association). Each month if you look over your remuneration statement, you may notice a line item under Employer Paid titled “PEHP SLOCEA” with an amount of $50 on one statement each month.
If you are like me, you may have never questioned what this was, since it wasn’t being deducted from your gross pay! While many County employees may also overlook this line item, it’s an important one to remember for when you do plan to separate or retire from the County!
In 2008, SLOCEA negotiated a $50/month contribution to be made by the County to a PEHP for each employee as part of the salary and benefits package for SLOCEA represented bargaining units (01, 02, 05, 13). This contribution is deposited into a PEHP account for the member each month, that becomes available after the member separates from the County. These funds are designed to assist members defray the cost of health care after separation. Employees in SLOCEA represented units are enrolled in the PEHP Universal Reimbursement Account with Nationwide Retirement Solutions.
What can you use it for?
The PEHP account can be used to pay for, or reimburse, qualified medical expenses that are not covered by health insurance, including deductibles, co-pays, premiums, prescription drugs, eyeglasses and dental care, including check-ups, orthodontia and dentures. These funds are tax-free and are available after leaving the employer or retiring.
Eligible insurance premiums include:
Medical
Dental
Vision
Tax-qualified long-term care
Medicare Part B
Medicare Part D
Medicare supplement plans
Tips for Success
While this is an amazing benefit that can help offset the costs of healthcare for employees leaving County service, like many other aspects of healthcare it is not always straightforward. After my experience attempting to access my PEHP account and funds, I wanted to pass on what I learned.
1. Contact Nationwide directly by phone (877) 677-3678. The rep listed on the County page for PEHP will just direct you to that number for customer service.
She was very helpful and answered all my questions as best she could, but she did state that she does not handle the PEHP accounts.
2. Set up your log-in online and make sure your legal name is updated on the account, if necessary, before you separate from the County.
Because I got married and changed my name after I started with the County, this became a lengthy process of providing documentation and several rounds of the form to make sure everything was correct.
3. You can request a DocuSign version of the claim form if you don’t have access to a printer.
Just confirm that the form is acceptable as a DocuSign and does not require a wet signature. This was one factor that caused a lot of issues and delays in my experience.
4. Save your receipts and/or verifications of plan enrollment to request reimbursement.
You will need to provide these to Nationwide when submitting a claim form.
5. Be prepared for it to take a while.
I was told originally by customer service that it would take 3-5 business days to process my name change and reimbursement request. It’s been over a month and my request has still not been processed, partially due to being given the wrong paperwork more than once.
While working with insurance/healthcare companies is rarely smooth, I hope my experiences can help the next SLOCEA member navigate accessing this benefit after leaving County employment. My family is grateful for the PEHP benefit after working for the County for nearly a decade, especially facing the current health insurance landscape and premium costs.
To learn more about the SLOCEA negotiated PEHP or to see plan documents, please visit the Membership Benefits page on our website. If you have any questions, please contact the SLOCEA office by email info@slocea.org, or by phone (805)543-2021.
Emily Landis
Executive Director