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Charlotte County tells employees to confirm benefits as medical plan shifts to Aetna
Summary
County benefits staff urged employees to log into BenTech during the current open enrollment, said medical coverage will move to Aetna Jan. 1, confirmed dental and vision remain with Cigna and EyeMed, and reminded employees to name beneficiaries to receive the county's $50,000 basic life benefit.
Caroline Wenell, the county's internal communications manager, and Jenny Bolistron, benefits coordinator, briefed Charlotte County employees on the ongoing open-enrollment period and upcoming insurance changes.
Bolistron said the county consolidated benefits enrollment into a single open-enrollment period this year to reduce confusion and let staff make all elections at once. "You can make all of your benefit elections and changes to the flexible spending account at one time," she said, encouraging employees to log into the BenTech portal even if they do not plan to change coverage.
Why it matters: the county will switch its medical carrier effective Jan. 1. "To Aetna as of January 1," Bolistron said. She added that dental coverage will remain with Cigna and vision coverage will continue with EyeMed. Bolistron said new Aetna ID cards "will have all your information on the front of the card" and that cards should arrive at employees' homes by December; the back of the card will list cost-share details and phone numbers for the county clinic and the local pharmacy in Punta Gorda.
The county also provides a basic $50,000 life insurance benefit to all employees; Bolistron emphasized employees must name a beneficiary in BenTech to ensure that coverage is assigned. "The county offers $50,000 to all employees," she said.
Voluntary policies: New York Life is offering new voluntary benefits through the county plan. Employees who want to port or keep existing voluntary policies may be able to move coverage for certain carriers: Bolistron named Transamerica, Boston Mutual and Aflac as porting options. Instructions for Aflac are posted in BenTech; employees were told to contact Bolistron directly for assistance with the other carriers.
Deadlines and changes: Bolistron said the open-enrollment period is already underway and "goes through November at midnight," but the announcement did not specify an exact calendar date; she also said employees can make and revise selections daily until the enrollment window closes.
Next steps: employees were asked to log into BenTech to review their options, elect or confirm beneficiaries, and contact Jenny Bolistron with questions about porting or specific plan details. Wenell closed the briefing by thanking Bolistron and encouraging staff to take advantage of the resources available.
The county did not provide a precise calendar date for the end of the enrollment window in this briefing; employees seeking the exact deadline were instructed to check BenTech or contact benefits staff.
