Coordination of Benefits

How Duplicate Coverage Occurs

This chapter describes the circumstances when you or your covered Dependents may be entitled to health care benefits under this Plan and may also be entitled to recover all or part of your health care expenses from some other source. In this chapter the term “you” references all covered Plan Participants. In many of those cases, either this Plan or the other source (the primary plan or program) pays benefits or provides services first, and the other (the secondary plan or program) pays some or all of the difference between the total cost of those services and payment by the primary plan or program. In other cases, only one plan pays benefits. Duplicate coverage can occur if you or a covered Dependent is also covered by:

Another group health care plan (including but not limited to a plan which provides the Covered Individual with COBRA Continuation Coverage); or
Medicare; or
Other government program, such as Medicaid, TRICARE, or a program of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, motor vehicle including but not limited to no-fault, uninsured motorist or underinsured motorist coverage for medical expenses or loss of earnings that is required by law, or any coverage provided by a federal, state or local government or agency; or
Workers’ compensation.
Coverage resulting from a judgment at law or settlement.
Any responsible third party, its insurer, or any other source on behalf of that party.
Any first party insurance (e.g. medical, personal injury, no-fault, underinsured motorist or uninsured motorist coverage).
Any policy from any insurance company or guarantor of a third party
Any other source (e.g. crime victim restitution, medical, disability, school insurance).

The Plan’s benefit coverage is excess to other responsible parties’ coverage sources such as coverage from a judgment, settlement, or any responsible party.

Duplicate recovery of health care expenses can also occur if there is any other coverage for your health care expenses including third party liability.

This chapter describes the rules that determine which plan pays first (is primary) and which pays second (is secondary), or when one of the plans is responsible for benefits and the other is not. This Plan operates under rules that prevent it from paying benefits which, together with the benefits from another source you possess (as described above), would allow you to recover more than 100% of expenses you incur. In many instances, you may recover less than 100% of those expenses from the duplicate sources of coverage or recovery.

In some instances, this Plan will not provide coverage if you can recover from some other resource. In other instances, this Plan will advance its benefits, but only subject to its right to recover them if and when you or your covered Dependent actually recover some or all of your losses from a third party (see also the subrogation provisions in this chapter). Duplicate recovery of health care expenses may also occur if a third party caused the injury or illness by negligent or intentionally wrongful action.

Coverage Under More Than One Group Health Plan

When and How Coordination of Benefits (COB) Applies

For the purposes of this Coordination of Benefits chapter, the word “Plan” refers to any group medical or dental policy, contract or plan, whether insured or self-insured, that provides benefits payable on account of medical or dental services incurred by the Covered Individual or that provides health care services to the Covered Individual. A “Group Plan” provides its benefits or services to Employees, Retirees or members of a group who are eligible for and have elected coverage (including but not limited to a plan that provides the Covered Individual with COBRA Continuation Coverage).
Many families have family members covered by more than one medical or dental Plan. If this is the case with your family, you must let this Plan and its Claims Administrators know about all medical and dental Plan coverage’s when you submit a claim.
Coordination of Benefits (or COB, as it is usually called) operates so that one of the Plans (called the primary plan) will pay its benefits first. The other plan, (called the secondary plan) may then pay additional benefits. In no event will the combined benefits of the primary and secondary plans exceed 100% of the health care expenses incurred. Sometimes, the combined benefits that are paid will be less than the total expenses.

Which Plan Pays First: Order of Benefit Determination Rules

The Overriding Rules

Group plans determine the sequence in which they pay benefits, or which plan pays first, by applying a uniform set of order of benefit determination rules that are applied in the specific sequence outlined below. This Plan uses the order of benefit determination rules established by the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) and which are commonly used by insured and self-insured plans. Any group plan that does not use these same rules always pays its benefits first. This Plan does not coordinate benefits with an individual plan including a plan purchased through the Health Insurance Marketplace.
When two group plans cover the same person, the following order of benefit determination rules establish which plan is the primary plan that pays first and which is the secondary plan that pays second. If the first of the following rules does not establish a sequence or order of benefits, the next rule is applied, and so on, until an order of benefits is established. These rules are:

Rule 1: Non-Dependent or Dependent

The plan that covers a person other than a dependent, for example, as an Employee, Retiree, member or subscriber is the primary plan that pays first; and the plan that covers the same person as a dependent is the secondary plan that pays second.
There is one exception to this rule. If the person is also a Medicare beneficiary, and as a result of the provisions of Title XVIII of the Social Security Act and implementing regulations (the Medicare rules), Medicare is secondary to the plan covering the person as a dependent; and primary to the plan covering the person as other than a dependent (that is, the plan covering the person as a Retired Employee); then the order of benefits is reversed, so that the plan covering the person as a dependent pays first; and the plan covering the person other than as a dependent (that is, as a Retired Employee) pays second.

Rule 2: Dependent Child Covered Under More Than One Plan

The plan that covers the parent whose Birthday falls earlier in the calendar year pays first; and the plan that covers the parent whose Birthday falls later in the calendar year pays second, if:
1. the parents are married;
2. the parents are not separated (whether or not they ever have been married); or
3. a court decree awards joint custody without specifying that one parent has the responsibility for the child’s health care expenses or to provide health care coverage for the child.
If both parents have the same Birthday, the plan that has covered one of the parents for a longer period of time pays first; and the plan that has covered the other parent for the shorter period of time pays second.
The word “Birthday” refers only to the month and day in a calendar year; not the year in which the person was born.
If the specific terms of a court decree state that one parent is responsible for the child’s health care expenses or health care coverage, and the plan of that parent has actual knowledge of the terms of that court decree, that plan pays first. If the parent with financial responsibility has no coverage for the child’s health care services or expenses, but that parent’s current Spouse does, the plan of the Spouse of the parent with financial responsibility pays first. However, this provision does not apply during any Plan Year during which any benefits were actually paid or provided before the plan had actual knowledge of the specific terms of that court decree.
If the specific terms of a court decree state that both parents are responsible for the dependent child’s health care expenses or health care coverage, the plan that covers the parent whose Birthday falls earlier in the calendar year pays first, and the plan that covers the parent whose Birthday falls later in the calendar year pays second.
If the parents are not married, or are separated (whether or not they ever were married), or are divorced, and there is no court decree allocating responsibility for the child’s health care services or expenses, the order of benefit determination among the plans of the parents and their Spouses (if any) is:
1. The plan of the custodial parent pays first; and
2. The plan of the Spouse of the custodial parent pays second; and
3. The plan of the non-custodial parent pays third; and
4. The plan of the Spouse of the non-custodial parent pays last.
For a dependent child covered under more than one plan of individuals who are not the parents of the child, the order of benefits shall be determined, as described in Rule 5 (the longer/shorter length of coverage) and if length of coverage is the same, then the birthday rule (Rule 2) applies between the dependent child’s parents coverage and the dependent’s self or spouse coverage. For example, if a married dependent child on this Plan is also covered as a dependent on the group plan of their spouse, this Plan looks to Rule 5 first and if the two plans have the same length of coverage, then the Plan looks to whose birthday is earlier in the year: the employee-parent covering the dependent or the employee-Spouse covering the dependent.

Rule 3: Active/Laid-Off or Retired Employee

The plan that covers a person either as an active Employee (that is, an Employee who is neither laid-off nor retired), or as that active Employee’s dependent, pays first; and the plan that covers the same person as a laid-off or Retired Employee, or as that laid-off or Retired Employee’s dependent, pays second.
If the other plan does not have this rule, and if, as a result, the plans do not agree on the order of benefits, this rule is ignored.
If a person is covered as a laid-off or Retired Employee under one plan and as a dependent of an active Employee under another plan, the order of benefits is determined by Rule 1 rather than by this rule.

Rule 4: Continuation Coverage

If a person whose coverage is provided under a right of continuation under federal or state law is also covered under another plan, the plan that covers the person as an Employee, Retiree, member or subscriber (or as that person’s dependent) pays first, and the plan providing continuation coverage to that same person pays second.
If the other plan does not have this rule, and if, as a result, the plans do not agree on the order of benefits, this rule is ignored.
If a person is covered other than as a dependent (that is, as an Employee, former Employee, Retiree, member or subscriber) under a right of continuation coverage under federal or state law under one plan and as a dependent of an active Employee under another plan, the order of benefits is determined by Rule 1 rather than by this rule.

Rule 5: Longer/Shorter Length of Coverage

If none of the four previous rules determines the order of benefits, the plan that covered the person for the longer period of time pays first; and the plan that covered the person for the shorter period of time pays second.
To determine how long a person was covered by a plan, two plans are treated as one if the person was eligible for coverage under the second plan within 24 hours after the first plan ended.
The start of a new plan does not include a change:
1. in the amount or scope of a plan’s benefits;
2. in the entity that pays, provides or administers the plan; or
3. from one type of plan to another (such as from a single employer plan to a multiple employer plan).
The length of time a person is covered under a plan is measured from the date the person was first covered under that plan. If that date is not readily available, the date the person first became a member of the group will be used to determine the length of time that person was covered under the plan presently in force.

How Much This Plan Pays When It Is Secondary:

Secondary Liability of this Plan: When this Plan pays second, it will pay the same benefits that it would have paid had it paid first, less whatever payments were actually made by the plan (or plans) that paid first. In no case will this Plan pay more in benefits for each claim as it is submitted than it would have paid had it been the Plan that paid first. This has the effect of maintaining this Plan’s Deductibles, coinsurance and exclusions. As a result, when this Plan pays second, you may not receive the equivalent of 100% of the total cost of the health care services.

“Allowable Expense” means a health care service or expense, including Deductibles, coinsurance or copayments, which is covered in full or in part by any of the plans covering the person, except as provided below or where a statute applicable to this Plan requires a different definition. This means that an expense or service (or any portion of an expense or service) that is not covered by any of the plans is not an allowable expense. The following are examples of expenses or services that are not allowable expenses:

If the coordinating plans determine benefits on the basis of an Allowed charge amount, any amount in excess of the highest allowed charge is not an allowable expense.
If the coordinating plans provide benefits or services on the basis of negotiated fees, any amount in excess of the highest of the negotiated fees is not an allowable expense.
If one coordinating plan determines benefits on the basis of an Allowed charge amount and the other coordinating plan provides benefits or services on the basis of negotiated fees, the Fund’s payment arrangement is the allowable expense for all plans.
When benefits are reduced by a primary plan because a Covered Individual did not comply with the primary plan’s provisions, such as the provisions related to Utilization Review in this Plan and similar provisions in other plans, the amount of those reductions will not be considered an allowable expense by this Plan when it pays second.

Allowable expenses do not include expenses for services received because of an occupational sickness or injury, or expenses for services that are excluded or not covered under this Plan.

Administration of COB

To administer COB, the Plan reserves the right to:
- exchange information with other plans involved in paying claims;
- require that you or your Health Care Provider furnish any necessary information;
- reimburse any plan that made payments this Plan should have made; or
- recover any overpayment from your Hospital, Physician, Dentist, other Health Care Provider, other insurance company, you or your Dependent.
If this Plan should have paid benefits that were paid by any other plan, this Plan may pay the party that made the other payments in the amount this Plan Administrator or its designee determines to be proper under this provision. Any amounts so paid will be considered to be benefits under this Plan, and this Plan will be fully discharged from any liability it may have to the extent of such payment.
To obtain all the benefits available to you, you should file a claim under each plan that covers the person for the expenses that were incurred. However, any person who claims benefits under this Plan must provide all the information the Plan needs to apply COB.
This plan follows the customary coordination of benefits rule that the medical program coordinates with only other medical plans or programs, and not with any dental plan or program and the dental program coordinates only with other dental plans or programs and not with any other medical plan or program. Therefore, when this Plan is secondary, it will pay secondary medical benefits only when the coordinating primary plan provides medical benefits, and it will pay secondary dental benefits only when the primary plan provides dental benefits.
If this Plan is primary, and if the coordinating secondary plan is an HMO, EPO or other plan that provides benefits in the form of services, this Plan will consider the reasonable cash value of each service to be both the allowable expense and the benefits paid by the primary plan. The reasonable cash value of such a service may be determined based on the Plan’s Allowed charge.
1. For Medicare eligible Retirees and their Medicare eligible Dependents, Medicare Part D coverage is primary and this group health plan pays secondary. Note that dual coverage may affect your Out-of-Pocket Limit under your Medicare prescription drug plan.
If this Plan is secondary, and if the coordinating primary plan does not cover health care services because they were obtained Out-of-Network, benefits for services covered by this Plan will be payable by this Plan subject to the rules applicable to COB, but only to the extent they would have been payable if this Plan were the primary plan.
If this Plan is secondary, and if the coordinating plan is also secondary because it provides by its terms that it is always secondary or excess to any other coverage, or because it does not use the same order of benefit determination rules as this Plan, this Plan will not relinquish its secondary position. However, if this Plan advances an amount equal to the benefits it would have paid had it been the primary plan, this Plan will be subrogated to all rights the Plan Participant may have against the other plan, and the Plan Participant must execute any documents required or requested by this Plan to pursue any claims against the other plan for reimbursement of the amount advanced by this Plan.

Coordination of Benefits With Medicare

Entitlement to Medicare Coverage: Generally, anyone age 65 or older is entitled to Medicare coverage. Anyone under age 65 who is entitled to Social Security Disability Income benefits is also entitled to Medicare coverage (usually after a waiting period).
Medicare Participants May Retain or Cancel Coverage Under This Plan: If an eligible individual under this Plan becomes covered by Medicare, whether because of end-stage renal disease (ESRD), disability or age, that individual may either retain or cancel coverage under this Plan. If the eligible individual under this Plan is covered by both this Plan and by Medicare, as long as the eligible Employee remains actively employed, that Employee’s medical expense coverage will continue to provide the same benefits and contributions for that coverage will remain the same. In that case, this Plan pays first and Medicare pays second.
If an eligible individual under this Plan is covered by Medicare and an Employee cancels coverage under this Plan, coverage of their Spouse and/or Dependent Child(ren) will terminate, but they may be entitled to COBRA Continuation Coverage. See the COBRA of 1985 section for further information about COBRA Continuation Coverage. If any of the eligible Employee’s Dependents are covered by Medicare and the Employee cancels that Dependent’s coverage under this Plan, that Dependent will not be entitled to COBRA Continuation Coverage. The choice of retaining or canceling coverage under this Plan of a Medicare participant is the responsibility of the Employee. Neither this Plan nor the Employee’s employer will provide any consideration, incentive or benefits to encourage cancellation of coverage under this Plan.
Coverage Under Medicare and This Plan When Totally Disabled: If an eligible Employee under this Plan becomes Totally Disabled and entitled to Medicare because of that disability, the eligible Employee will no longer be considered to remain actively employed. As a result, once the Employee becomes entitled to Medicare because of that disability, Medicare pays first and this Plan pays second. Generally, if an eligible Dependent under this Plan becomes Totally Disabled and entitled to Medicare because of that disability, this Plan pays first for that Dependent and Medicare pays second. This Medicare secondary payer rule applies to employers with 100 or more Employees.
Coverage Under Medicare and This Plan for End-Stage Renal Disease: If, while actively employed, an eligible individual under this Plan becomes entitled to Medicare because of end-stage renal disease (ESRD), this Plan pays first and Medicare pays second for 30 months starting the earlier of the month in which Medicare ESRD coverage begins; or the first month in which the individual receives a kidney transplant. Then, starting with the 31st month after the start of Medicare coverage, Medicare pays first and this Plan pays second.

Refer to the Summary Plan Description (SPD)/Plan Document for information regarding How Much This Plan Pays When It Is Secondary to Medicare, and Coordination with Government and other Programs.