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2024 Health Plan Benefit Notices for Employees - English

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2024 HEALTH PLAN NOTICES FOR EMPLOYEES Health Insurance Marketplace Options and Your Health Coverage The Health Insurance Marketplace is designed to help individuals find, compare, and purchase private individual health insurance. The Marketplace does not affect your eligibility for coverage in your employer’s group health plan. Individuals may be eligible for a tax credit that lowers the monthly premium of coverage purchased in the Marketplace. However, if you are eligible for an employer’s group health plan, you may not be eligible for a tax credit through the Marketplace if the employer group health plan meets the "minimum value" and "affordability" standards set by the Affordable Care Act. Additionally, if you purchase your own health plan through the Marketplace instead of accepting health coverage offered by your employer, then you will lose the employer contribution towards coverage. This employer contribution - as well as your employee contribution towards coverage - is often excluded from income for Federal and State income tax purposes. Your payments for coverage you purchase through the Marketplace are made on an after-tax basis. Open enrollment for individual health insurance coverage through the Marketplace occurs at the end of each calendar year for coverage effective the following January 1st. If you are interested, please visit HealthCare.gov for more information, including an online application for health insurance coverage and contact information for a Health Insurance Marketplace in your area. Notice of Special Enrollment Rights If you decline enrollment for yourself or an eligible dependent (including your spouse) while other health insurance or group health plan coverage is in effect, you may be able to enroll yourself and your dependents in the plans offered by the company if you or your dependents lose eligibility for that other coverage (or if the employer stops contributing toward your or your dependents’ other coverage). You must request enrollment within 30 days after your or your dependents’ other coverage ends (or after the employer stops contributing toward the other coverage). In addition, if you have a new dependent as a result of marriage, birth, adoption, or placement for adoption, you may be able to enroll yourself and your new dependents. You must request enrollment within 30 days after the marriage, birth, adoption, or placement for adoption. You may also be able to enroll if you or your dependents lose eligibility for coverage under Medicaid or a state Children’s Health Insurance Plan (CHIP) and request enrollment within 60 days of losing Medicaid or CHIP. You may also be able to enroll if you or your dependents become eligible for state premium assistance from Medicaid or CHIP towards the cost of the group health plan, and request enrollment within 60 days of eligibility for state premium assistance. If you decline coverage for yourself or an eligible dependent, you are required to complete a waiver form. On the form, you may be asked to state that coverage under another group health plan or other health insurance coverage is the reason you are declining enrollment and you may be asked to identify that coverage. If you do not complete the form, you and your dependents will not be entitled to special enrollment rights upon a loss of other coverage as described above, but you will still have special enrollment rights when you have a new dependent by marriage, birth, adoption, or placement for adoption, as described above. If you do not gain special enrollment rights upon a loss of other coverage, you cannot enroll yourself or your dependents in the Plan at any time other than the Plan’s annual open enrollment period, unless special enrollment rights apply because of a new dependent by marriage, birth, adoption, or placement for adoption. To request special enrollment or to obtain information about the Plan’s special enrollment provisions, contact the employer.

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Women’s Health and Cancer Rights Act (WHCRA) The Women’s Health and Cancer Rights Act requires group health plans that provide coverage for mastectomies to also cover reconstructive surgery and prostheses following mastectomies. The law mandates that a member receiving benefits for a medically necessary mastectomy who elects breast reconstruction after the mastectomy, will receive coverage for: • reconstruction of the breast on which mastectomy has been performed; • surgery and reconstruction of the other breast to produce a symmetrical appearance; • prostheses; and • treatment of physical complications of all stages of mastectomy, including lymphedemas. This coverage will be provided in a manner determined in consultation with the attending physician and the patient, and it will be subject to the same annual deductibles and coinsurance provisions as those established for other benefits under the plan. Please call your medical plan using the number on your identification card or contact the employer for more information. Availability of Notice of Privacy Practices The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (“HIPAA”) requires health plans to protect the confidentiality of your personal health information (“PHI”). HIPAA also requires that health plans maintain privacy notices which provide a complete description of your rights under HIPAA’s privacy rules. For insured coverage, the health insurance plan privacy notices are maintained by the insurance providers. For self-insured coverage, the privacy notice is maintained by your employer. In general, the plans will not use or further disclose PHI except as necessary for treatment, payment, health plan operations and plan administration or as permitted or required by law. Under HIPAA, you have certain rights with respect to your protected health information and the right to file a complaint with the plan or the Secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services if you believe your rights under HIPAA has been violated. Please see the employer for a copy of the Notice of Privacy Practices for your health plans. Premium Assistance Under Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) If you or your children are eligible for Medicaid or CHIP and you’re eligible for health coverage from your employer, your state may have a premium assistance program that can help pay for coverage, using funds from their Medicaid or CHIP programs. If you or your children aren’t eligible for Medicaid or CHIP, you won’t be eligible for these premium assistance programs but you may be able to buy individual insurance coverage through the Health Insurance Marketplace. For more information, visit www.healthcare.gov. If you or your dependents are already enrolled in Medicaid or CHIP and you live in a State listed on the DOL website https://www.dol.gov/sites/dolgov/files/EBSA/laws-and-regulations/laws/chipra/model-notice.pdf, contact your State Medicaid or CHIP office to find out if premium assistance is available. If you or your dependents are NOT currently enrolled in Medicaid or CHIP, and you think you or any of your dependents might be eligible for either of these programs, contact your State Medicaid or CHIP office or dial 1-877-KIDS NOW or https://www.insurekidsnow.gov/ to find out how to apply. If you qualify, ask your state if it has a program that might help you pay the premiums for an employer-sponsored plan. If you or your dependents are eligible for premium assistance under Medicaid or CHIP, as well as eligible under your employer plan, your employer must allow you to enroll in your employer plan if you aren’t already enrolled. This is called a “special enrollment” opportunity, and you must request coverage within 60 days of being determined eligible for premium assistance. If you have questions about enrolling in your employer plan, contact the Department of Labor at www.askebsa.dol.gov or call 1-866-444-EBSA (3272).

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INITIAL NOTICE OF COBRA RIGHTS Introduction This notice has important information about your right to COBRA continuation coverage, which is a temporary extension of coverage under the Plan. This notice explains COBRA continuation coverage, when it may become available to you and your family, and what you need to do to protect your right to get it. When you become eligible for COBRA, you may also become eligible for other coverage options that may cost less than COBRA continuation coverage. The right to COBRA continuation coverage was created by a federal law, the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1985 (COBRA). COBRA continuation coverage can become available to you and other members of your family when group health coverage would otherwise end. For more information about your rights and obligations under the Plan and under federal law, you should review the Plan’s SPD or contact the administrator. You may have other options available to you when you lose group health coverage. For example, you may be eligible to buy an individual plan through the Health Insurance Marketplace. By enrolling in coverage through the Marketplace, you may qualify for lower costs on your monthly premiums and lower out-of-pocket costs. Additionally, you may qualify for a 30-day special enrollment period for another group health plan for which you are eligible (such as a spouse’s plan), even if that plan generally doesn’t accept late enrollees. What is COBRA continuation coverage? COBRA continuation coverage is a continuation of Plan coverage when it would otherwise end because of a life event. This is also called a “qualifying event.” Specific qualifying events are listed later in this notice. After a qualifying event, COBRA continuation coverage must be offered to each person who is a “qualified beneficiary.” You, your spouse, and your dependent children could become qualified beneficiaries if coverage under the Plan is lost because of the qualifying event. Under the Plan, qualified beneficiaries who elect COBRA continuation coverage must pay for COBRA continuation coverage. If you’re an employee, you’ll become a qualified beneficiary if you lose your coverage under the Plan because of the following qualifying events: • Your hours of employment are reduced, or • Your employment ends for any reason other than your gross misconduct. If you’re the spouse of an employee, you’ll become a qualified beneficiary if you lose your coverage under the Plan because of the following qualifying events: • Your spouse dies; • Your spouse’s hours of employment are reduced; • Your spouse’s employment ends for any reason other than his or her gross misconduct; • Your spouse becomes entitled to Medicare benefits (under Part A, Part B, or both); or • You become divorced or legally separated from your spouse. Your dependent children will become qualified beneficiaries if they lose coverage under the Plan because of the following qualifying events: • The parent-employee dies; • The parent-employee’s hours of employment are reduced; • The parent-employee’s employment ends for any reason other than his or her gross misconduct; • The parent-employee becomes entitled to Medicare benefits (Part A, Part B, or both); • The parents become divorced or legally separated; or • The child stops being eligible for coverage under the Plan as a “dependent child.”

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When is COBRA continuation coverage available? The Plan will offer COBRA continuation coverage to qualified beneficiaries only after the Employer has been notified that a qualifying event has occurred. The Employer must notify the Plan Administrator (if different from the Employer) of the following qualifying events: • The end of employment or reduction of hours of employment; • Death of the employee; or • The employee’s becoming entitled to Medicare benefits (under Part A, Part B, or both). For all other qualifying events (divorce or legal separation of the employee and spouse or a dependent child’s losing eligibility for coverage as a dependent child), you must notify the Employer within 60 days after the qualifying event occurs. You must provide this notice in writing to the designated party for COBRA administration. How is COBRA continuation coverage provided? Once the Employer receives notice that a qualifying event has occurred, COBRA continuation coverage will be offered to each of the qualified beneficiaries. Each qualified beneficiary will have an independent right to elect COBRA continuation coverage. Covered employees may elect COBRA continuation coverage on behalf of their spouses, and parents may elect COBRA continuation coverage on behalf of their children. COBRA continuation coverage is a temporary continuation of coverage that generally lasts for 18 months due to employment termination or reduction of hours of work. Certain qualifying events, or a second qualifying event during the initial period of coverage, may permit a beneficiary to receive a maximum of 36 months of coverage. There are also ways in which this 18-month period of COBRA continuation coverage can be extended: Disability extension of 18-month period of COBRA continuation coverage If you or anyone in your family covered under the Plan is determined by Social Security to be disabled and you notify the Employer in a timely fashion, you and your entire family may be entitled to get up to an additional 11 months of COBRA continuation coverage, for a maximum of 29 months. The disability would have to have started at some time before the 60th day of COBRA continuation coverage and must last at least until the end of the 18-month period of COBRA continuation coverage. You or the qualified beneficiary must provide notice in writing to either designated party for COBRA administration. The written notice must be provided before the end of the first 18 months of COBRA and no later than 60 days following the latest of the date: a) of the Social Security disability determination, b) of the qualifying event, c) on which coverage would be lost due to the qualifying event, or d) on which the qualified beneficiary is furnished notice of this responsibility and procedure. Second qualifying event extension of 18-month period of continuation coverage If your family experiences another qualifying event during the 18 months of COBRA continuation coverage, the spouse and dependent children in your family can get up to 18 additional months of COBRA continuation coverage, for a maximum of 36 months, if the Plan is properly notified about the second qualifying event. This extension may be available to the spouse and any dependent children getting COBRA continuation coverage if the employee or former employee dies; becomes entitled to Medicare benefits (under Part A, Part B, or both); gets divorced or legally separated; or if the dependent child stops being eligible under the Plan as a dependent child. This extension is only available if the second qualifying event would have caused the spouse or dependent child to lose coverage under the Plan had the first qualifying event not occurred. Are there other coverage options besides COBRA continuation coverage? Yes. Instead of enrolling in COBRA continuation coverage, there may be other coverage options for you and your family through the Health Insurance Marketplace, Medicaid, or other group health plan coverage options (such as a spouse’s plan) through what is called a “special enrollment period.” Some of these options may cost less than COBRA continuation coverage. You can learn more about many of these options at www.healthcare.gov.

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Can I enroll in Medicare instead of COBRA continuation coverage after my group health plan coverage ends? In general, if you don’t enroll in Medicare Part A or B when you are first eligible because you are still employed, after the Medicare initial enrollment period, you have an 8-month special enrollment period to sign up for Medicare Part A or B, beginning on the earlier of: • The month after your employment ends; or • The month after group health plan coverage based on current employment ends. If you don’t enroll in Medicare and elect COBRA continuation coverage instead, you may have to pay a Part B late enrollment penalty and you may have a gap in coverage if you decide you want Part B later. If you elect COBRA continuation coverage and later enroll in Medicare Part A or B before the COBRA continuation coverage ends, the Plan may terminate your continuation coverage. However, if Medicare Part A or B is effective on or before the date of the COBRA election, COBRA coverage may not be discontinued on account of Medicare entitlement, even if you enroll in the other part of Medicare after the date of the election of COBRA coverage. If you are enrolled in both COBRA continuation coverage and Medicare, Medicare will generally pay first (primary payer) and COBRA continuation coverage will pay second. Certain plans may pay as if secondary to Medicare, even if you are not enrolled in Medicare. For more information visit https://www.medicare.gov/medicare-and-you. If you have questions Questions concerning your Plan or your COBRA continuation coverage rights should be addressed to the contact or contacts identified below. For more information about your rights under ERISA, including COBRA, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, and other laws affecting group health plans, contact the nearest Regional or District Office of the U.S. Department of Labor’s Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) in your area or visit www.dol.gov/ebsa. (Addresses and phone numbers of Regional and District EBSA Offices are available through EBSA’s website.) For more information about the Marketplace, visit www.HealthCare.gov. Keep your Plan informed of address changes To protect your family’s rights, let the Employer know about any changes in the addresses of family members. Please contact either the Employer or the designated party for COBRA administration. You should also keep a copy, for your records, of any notices you send. Plan’s COBRA contact information Robyn K. Pretlow, JD, M.Ed Director of Talent(Human Resources)/General Counsel Telephone: (202)803-8967 ext 403

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Important Notice from [Mundo Verde Bilingual Public Charter School About Your Prescription Drug Coverage and Medicare For Individuals Who Are (or Will Soon Be) Eligible for Medicare If you have received this electronically, you are responsible for providing a copy of this disclosure to your Medicare-eligible dependents covered under the group health plan. Please read this notice carefully and keep it where you can find it. This notice has information about your current prescription drug coverage with Mundo Verde Bilingual Public Charter School and about your options under Medicare’s prescription drug coverage. This information can help you decide whether or not you want to join a Medicare drug plan. If you are considering joining, you should compare your current coverage, including which drugs are covered at what cost, with the coverage and costs of the plans offering Medicare prescription drug coverage in your area. Information about where you can get help to make decisions about your prescription drug coverage is at the end of this notice. There are two important things you need to know about your current coverage and Medicare’s prescription drug coverage: 1. Medicare prescription drug coverage became available in 2006 to everyone with Medicare. You can get this coverage if you join a Medicare Prescription Drug Plan or join a Medicare Advantage Plan (like an HMO or PPO) that offers prescription drug coverage. All Medicare drug plans provide at least a standard level of coverage set by Medicare. Some plans may also offer more coverage for a higher monthly premium. 2. Mundo Verde Bilingual Public Charter School has determined that the prescription drug coverage offered by the Mundo Verde Bilingual Public Charter School group health insurance plan, on average for all plan participants, is expected to pay out as much as standard Medicare prescription drug coverage pays and is therefore considered Creditable Coverage. Because your existing coverage is Creditable Coverage, you can keep this coverage and not pay a higher premium (a penalty) if you later decide to join a Medicare drug plan. ______________________________________________________________________ When Can You Join A Medicare Drug Plan? You can join a Medicare drug plan when you first become eligible for Medicare and each year from October 15th through December 7th. However, if you lose your current creditable prescription drug coverage, through no fault of your own, you will also be eligible for a two (2) month Special Enrollment Period (SEP) to join a Medicare drug plan. What Happens To Your Current Coverage If You Decide to Join A Medicare Drug Plan? If you decide to join a Medicare drug plan, your current Mundo Verde Bilingual Public Charter School coverage may be affected. If you are or become eligible for Medicare drug coverage, you can keep the employer coverage if you elect a Medicare drug plan and the employer plan may coordinate with Medicare drug plan coverage. The group health insurance plan(s) offered by the employer includes medical coverage along with prescription drug coverage. Therefore, if you want to drop your employer drug coverage, you will lose both medical and prescription drug coverage. If you are an active employee and decide to join a Medicare drug plan and drop your current coverage, be aware that you and your dependents will only be able to get this coverage back at the annual open enrollment date, if you are still eligible for coverage at that time.

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If you are not an active employee and decide to join a Medicare drug plan and drop your current employer coverage, be aware that you and any previously covered dependents will not be able to get this coverage back. When Will You Pay A Higher Premium (Penalty) To Join A Medicare Drug Plan? You should also know that if you drop or lose your current coverage with the employer and don’t join a Medicare drug plan within 63 continuous days after your current coverage ends, you may pay a higher premium (a penalty) to join a Medicare drug plan later. If you go 63 continuous days or longer without creditable prescription drug coverage, your monthly premium may go up by at least 1% of the Medicare base beneficiary premium per month for every month that you did not have that coverage. For example, if you go nineteen months without creditable coverage, your premium may consistently be at least 19% higher than the Medicare base beneficiary premium. You may have to pay this higher premium (a penalty) as long as you have Medicare prescription drug coverage. In addition, you may have to wait until the following October to join. For More Information About This Notice Or Your Current Prescription Drug Coverage… Contact the person listed below for further information. NOTE: You will get this notice each year. You will also get it if this coverage changes. You also may request a copy of this notice at any time. For More Information About Your Options Under Medicare Prescription Drug Coverage… More detailed information about Medicare plans that offer prescription drug coverage is in the “Medicare & You” handbook. You will get a copy of the handbook in the mail every year from Medicare. You may also be contacted directly by Medicare drug plans. For more information about Medicare prescription drug coverage:  Visit www.medicare.gov  Call your State Health Insurance Assistance Program (see the inside back cover of your copy of the “Medicare & You” handbook for their telephone number) for personalized help  Call 1-800-MEDICARE (1-800-633-4227). TTY users should call 1-877-486-2048. If you have limited income and resources, extra help paying for Medicare prescription drug coverage is available. For information about this extra help, visit Social Security on the web at www.socialsecurity.gov, or call them at 1-800-772-1213 (TTY 1-800-325-0778). Remember: Keep this Creditable Coverage notice. If you decide to join one of the Medicare drug plans, you may be required to provide a copy of this notice when you join to show whether or not you have maintained creditable coverage and, therefore, whether or not you are required to pay a higher premium (a penalty). Date: September 1, 2023 Name of Entity/Sender: Mundo Verde Bilingual Public Charter School Contact--Position/Office: Robyn K. Pretlow, JD, M.Ed Director of Talent(Human Resources)/General Counsel Address: 30 P Street NW Washington, DC 20001 (Cook Campus) 4401 8th Street NE Washington, DC 20017 (Calle Ocho Campus) Phone Number: (202)803-8967 ext 403