Tuesday, April 26, 2016

AbsenceOne Becomes New Disability/Leave Carrier

As of May 1, 2016 employees who are eligible for Short- and Long-Term disability coverage will now have a new carrier to file their claim. Known for their customer service, consistent communications and state-of-art filing systems, AbsenceOne will be a reliable new partner should you request a leave of absence (LOA). Although your coverage has not changed, the process of reporting a leave has been updated due to our change in carriers.

Steps to Submit Your Leave as of May 1
  1. Notify your supervisor/manager of your leave of absence, request for Short Term Disability, or a leave in accordance with the Family Medical Leave Act
  2. Call AbsenceOne at 855-RTW-WELL/855-789-9355 to initiate the leave with the Northwell Health Leave Claim Center
  3. Provide AbsenceOne with the following information: address, phone number, employee ID or Social Security number, reason for leave, work location, physician information, and any information about a previous leave
  4. Complete your portion of the Release of Information form provided to you by the Claim Center 
  5. Have your physician's office complete their portion of the Release of Information provided to you by the Claim Center
  6. Return all documents within 15 days of your first date of absence, or date claim reported (whichever is greater)
Northwell Health wants you to be healthy and stay healthy, but in case you do have a health-related event, know that you are in good hands with our partners at AbsenceOne!

Create you login at absenceone.com/Northwell



Tuesday, April 5, 2016

Clarifying the 1095-C Tax Form

By now eligible Northwell Health employees (those who are offered health coverage through their employer or union in 2015) should have received the new 1095-C Tax Form in the mail. In accordance with the Affordable Care Act (ACA), this form contains information about the offer of health insurance coverage to you and your dependents in 2015.

There is no necessary action needed on on your part at this time, but here's what you should know:
  1. All recipients have a "P" listed as their middle initial: this is an error in the form. You will not receive a revised form, since you do not have to file it in 2016
  2. The return address for Northwell Health is listed as Lexington Ave, Manhattan, due to the fact that this form was mailed through a third party vendor
  3. In reference to Part II, Line 15: this amount of dollars is the LOWEST you would pay for health insurance through Northwell Health and may not reflect what you actually pay (again - there is no action necessary on your part!)
  4. If your accountant is asking you for the form tell him or her:
    "Because this requirement and form is new under the ACA, the government has granted us a one year grace period and we do not have to file with our taxes this year. If you are still my accountant next filing season .... we will be required to file the form."
  5. If you are covered by a union, you will receive the 1095-C Form stating that you were not offered coverage by Northwell Health (your employer) - those union employees should expect a 1095-B Form from their union - stating the coverage offered to them (it is really the same form - just from your union)
Questions?
Rest assured - this Form is not something you need to address in 2016. If you have questions or comments please share on our Blog so other employees can learn from your query. 

What's Next?
If you recently received a tax refund - think smart before you spend it. How about increasing your contribution to your 403(b) or 401(k) retirement plan by just one percent? Reach out to a Transamercia representative for more information about your retirement savings plan: Northwell.edu/myRetirement