Health insurance eligibility
Regular employees
0.2 FTE and above: Access to purchase health insurance
0.75 FTE and above: Access to the subsidy
Temporary employees
0.75 FTE or average of 30 hours or more per week among all assignments: Access to the subsidy
Employees on reduced hours or leave
Maintaining access to your insurance plans, as well as the subsidy, depends on your FTE.
Retirees
Access to purchase retiree health insurance is based on your years of service.
A subsidy for retiree health insurance is available if you were hired before January 1, 2006.
Regular employees
Regular, full-time employees with a full-time equivalency (FTE) of at least 0.75 receive a subsidy toward the cost of health insurance coverage.
These employees also receive life insurance coverage equal to one times their annual salary, and accidental death and dismemberment coverage equal to one times their annual salary, at no cost. For employees with an annual salary of more than $50,000, this coverage is subject to taxes for imputed income.
These employees also receive long-term disability insurance after one year of employment.
Regular, full-time employees can also purchase:
- Dental insurance
- Vision insurance
- Additional life insurance
- Many others
Regular employees with an FTE of at least 0.2 but less than 0.75 are able to buy health insurance at the full rate, without the subsidy.
Temporary employees
Temporary employees who work an average of at least 30 hours per week – in one or multiple temporary assignments – are eligible to purchase health insurance at the subsidized rate.
The measurement period for the average number of hours worked is April 1 through March 31.
Temporary employees with an FTE of at least 0.2 but less than 0.75 are able to buy health insurance at the full rate, without the subsidy.
Retirees
Access to retiree health insurance depends on multiple factors, including length of service at UK and hire date.
Employees may be considered retirees if they:
- Retired at age 65 or older
- Retired at age less than age 65 while meeting the “rule of 75,” which is where the age and years of service add up to at least 75. Retiring under the “rule of 75” requires at least 15 years of continuous, regular, full-time service.
Retirees at any age who meet the rule of 75 who were hired before January 1, 2006, are eligible to receive a subsidy toward the cost of health insurance. These retirees may also purchase UK dental and vision insurance plans.
Retirees at any age who meet the rule of 75 and were hired on or after January 1, 2006, may purchase UK health insurance at the full cost, without a subsidy. These retirees may also purchase UK dental and vision insurance plans.
You must be enrolled in a UK health insurance plan when you retire in order to participate in a retiree health insurance plan.
You and any eligible dependents covered on your health insurance plan when you retire may remain on your retiree plan.
If you cancel your university health insurance plan after retirement, you will not be able to re-enroll unless you take advantage of the one-time deferral option. This allows you to drop coverage and re-enroll one time.
Early retirees
Beginning July 1, 2007, anyone who becomes eligible to retire before age 65 pay a rate for health insurance that is based on age and years of service.
Working retirees
If you have officially retired but continue to work part-time hours, you may be eligible for health insurance at the same rate as eligible regular, full-time employees.
Working retirees may only receive the subsidy toward the cost of UK health insurance for one year and are only eligible if hired on or after January 1, 2006.
You must be working at least eight hours per week, or 0.2 FTE, but not more than 0.75 FTE, to access health insurance as a working retiree.
Retirees age 65 and older
Retirees and their spouses who are 65 or older may receive coverage under UK's Medicare Advantage Plan. Medicare Advantage covers Medicare Parts C and D. These plans include the benefits of Original Medicare (Parts A and B) plus extra benefits.
Retirees hired before January 1, 2006, and have 15 years of continuous service receive a subsidy toward the cost of coverage. Additional coverage for dependents is available.
Retirees with more than 5 years but less than 15 years of service are eligible to participate in the Medicare Advantage plan at the full monthly rate, with no subsidy.
Any surviving spouses of a deceased retiree who was hired before January 1, 2006, who is covered under a UK health plan may receive half the subsidy for retiree-only Medicare Advantage coverage. The retiree must have had coverage on the surviving spouse at the time of death, and the retiree must have been eligible to receive the subsidy. The subsidy will cease if the surviving spouse remarries.
Retirees age 65 and older can also purchase dental and vision insurance.
Coverage for family members and dependents
You may include the following individuals on your insurance plans:
- Spouse
- Dependent children up to age 26
- Mentally or physically disabled children of any age who were or became disabled before the age limit and were already covered by your plan
You may also include an adult sponsored dependent, who must:
- Be at least 18
- Share a primary residence for at least one year (residency cannot be established for the primary purpose of obtaining benefits)
- Not be a relative (parent, child, husband, wife, brother, sister, brother- or sister-in-law, mother- and father-in-law, uncle, aunt, cousin, niece, nephew, great niece, great nephew, grandparent, great grandparent, grandchildren, great grandchildren, son- or daughter-in-law, and half- and step-relatives of the same relationship)
- Not be employed by the UK employee
- Not be eligible for Medicare
An adult sponsored dependent may not be covered if a spouse is already covered.
Only one adult sponsored dependent may be on a benefit plan, in addition to their eligible dependents.
Unless the adult sponsored dependent and their children are eligible for tax-free health coverage as defined by the IRS, payroll deduction for adult sponsored dependent coverage will be made on an after-tax basis, and employer contributions toward the cost of sponsored dependent coverage will be considered taxable income to the employee.
Children of adult sponsored dependents can also be covered if they:
- Share a primary residence with the covered UK employee and adult sponsored dependent, and have lived with the UK employee at least one year before the coverage begins
- Are under the age of 26
- Are the natural born or adopted child of the adult sponsored dependent
- Are unmarried
- Are not a relative of the UK employee (based on the definition of relatives above)