Enrolling in the Health Trust
The Health Trust is managed jointly by UA Local 32 union representatives and participating employers to provide you and your eligible family members with high quality, affordable health and welfare benefits.
For more detailed information, please refer to your most recent PPO Summary Plan Description booklet or Kaiser Summary Plan Description booklet.
Eligibility & Enrollment
UA Local 32 members and their families have access to a wide range of benefits. Members that have met certain requirements are eligible to enroll for medical, dental, and vision benefits. Click the tabs below to learn more about eligibility, and how to enroll.
- Initial Eligibility
- Your Dollar Bank
- Who Can Enroll
- Open Enrollment
- Life Events
- Maintaining Eligibility
Initial Eligibility
Once you meet the requirements in your employer’s collective bargaining agreement, consistent with Trust guidelines, you will become eligible for health care coverage. Contributions are applied on the ‘lag month’ eligibility system. To become eligible for coverage you must work at least 137 hours each month.
For example, if you first meet the minimum 137 hours required for coverage in month 1, your employer will report those contributions in month 2, and your coverage is available starting in month 3. Here is an example of how it works
| Work Month | Lag Month | Eligible Month |
|---|---|---|
In January you work for a participating employer that makes contributions to this Trust |
During February your employer submits the contributions to the Trust Office for work performed in January. The Trust Office credits the contributions to your dollar bank account |
You are eligible on the first day of March and subsequent months as long as your dollar bank has enough dollars to pay for the coverage |
After your initial eligibility, you must continue to work a minimum of 137 hours per month and/or have enough saved in your dollar bank, for your eligibility to continue.
Your Dollar Bank
The plan uses a dollar bank system – meaning you earn contributions from your employer based on the hours you work, and these contributions go into a dollar bank on your behalf. Each month in which you earn eligibility, a deduction of 137 hours is made for that month’s coverage. If you work more than 137 hours in a month, the hours in excess are saved into your hour bank and can count toward eligibility for coverage in future months. You can bank up to 5 months’ worth of future coverage.
Building up your dollar bank
Having enough saved in your dollar bank can ensure your coverage continues without interruption in cases such as:
During slow work periods when it may be hard to get to the required 137 hours per month
If you work outside of the jurisdiction for an employer that has an agreement with the Trust, and there is a delay in your hours being processed
If you are suddenly unable to work due to family leave, illness, or other reasons
When you retire, or after your last day worked, for up to 1-5 months depending on your hours saved
Note that if you work less than 137 hours and no hours are added for 12 months (unless due to active military service), you could forfeit your dollar bank. If your dollar bank forfeits to the Trust, you must re-qualify as a new employee.
Who Can Enroll
Employees who meet the requirements in their participating employer’s collective bargaining agreement are eligible to enroll in the Trust. Eligible employees may also enroll certain dependents who do not have other coverage. These can include:
Your spouse (if not legally separated)
Children under age 26 who are your natural, step, or adopted children, or legally placed in your care for adoption
Foster children and legal wards under the age of 18, or under the age of 26 if the child continues to reside with you or is enrolled in a college or post-secondary educational institution and remains financially dependent on you
Children aged 26 and over if the child is disabled, the disability arose before the child reached age 26, and because of that disability the child is primarily dependent on you for support
As long as you are covered by the plan, you and your dependents remain eligible for this benefit; however, please note that your dependents may not be eligible for insurance benefits under certain continuation coverage, such as USERRA or COBRA continuation coverage. Please see your plan booklet for full details.
Open Enrollment
Reviewing the Open Enrollment packet every year ensures that you and your eligible dependents have medical coverage for the next plan year and helps you avoid any delayed or unpaid claims. Open Enrollment is offered in the fall and is the designated time each year for active plan participants to update their enrollment information or choose to change medical plans. Changes become effective for the following year on January 1.
Open Enrollment is also a convenient time to complete your Other Coverage Statement. This statement is required to be completed annually and, if not submitted, may cause medical claims to be denied. If you need a copy of this form, please contact the benefit administrator .
You do not have to wait for Annual Enrollment to make changes to your enrollment information if you have certain life changes during the year. For example, if you have or adopt a child, get married or divorced, change addresses, your spouse’s insurance changes, etc., you should make those changes as soon as they occur.
Life Events
Certain life changing events may allow you to change coverage options outside of the normal open enrollment period. This type of enrollment is called special enrollment. These qualifying life events include:
Adding a dependent via marriage, birth, adoption, or placement for adoption or court order. In these circumstances you may request to add a dependent within 90 days after you have acquired the dependent, or 150 days for newborns, provided all enrollment documents are timely received.
Removing a dependent either due to divorce or death. In these circumstances you may request to add a dependent within 90 days, provided all enrollment documents are timely received.
Loss of other coverage. If your dependent did not enroll in the plan because your dependent had other health insurance or group health coverage, and your dependent subsequently loses that other coverage, you may change your plan option within 30 days of the loss of that other coverage (or 60 days if the other coverage was Medicaid or State Children’s Health Insurance Program). In order to qualify for this special enrollment right, you must provide the Trust Office with proof that your dependent has other coverage as of the last open enrollment.
Maintaining Eligibility
Once enrolled, coverage is maintained if you work at least 137 hours per month and/or there are sufficient dollars in your dollar bank to pay for at least one month of coverage.
To ensure that you have continuous coverage:
Maintain your dollar bank. If you work less than 137 hours and no hours are added to your dollar bank for 12 months or longer (with the exception of active military service), you could forfeit your coverage. If your dollar bank forfeits, you will need to re-qualify as a new employee.
Know that certain jurisdictions or employers may operate differently. If you work in other jurisdictions outside of the covered plan areas, under the UA Reciprocity Program contributions made will be sent back to the Trust to allow your coverage to be maintained. Please note there may be a delay in processing these contributions. In addition, it is possible that if you work for an employer who contributes at a different amount than required under the Master Labor Agreement, your hours could be prorated.
Ready to Enroll?
If you are new to the Trust, need to add or delete a dependent, or it is during open enrollment, visit the plan administrator’s site www.ua-benefits-wa.org, and create an account or login to get started.