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Camdenton staff briefed on April open enrollment and shift of voluntary benefits to Hartford
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Summary
District leaders and OSBA representatives told employees that open enrollment runs April 8'2, that elections take effect July 1, 2026, and that many voluntary/worksite products now offered through American Fidelity will be available instead as group plans through Hartford on the OSBA platform; employees may keep individual American Fidelity policies billed to their home.
Dr. Thompson opened an April staff meeting announcing the district's annual open enrollment and introduced OSBA and Hartford representatives to explain plan choices and vendor changes.
Randy Lucanati, an OSBA representative, said the district's open enrollment will run April 8 through April 22 and that elections made in that window will be effective July 1, 2026. "When you go out to that, you'll have your own link to get into that," Lucanati said, describing the Employee Navigator enrollment system and urging employees to schedule time with onsite educators to review current elections.
Lucanati and Hartford's Matt Cleavey framed the year's principal change as a shift of voluntary/worksite benefits (accident, critical-illness, hospital indemnity, voluntary life, short- and long-term disability) from individually underwritten American Fidelity policies to group policies administered by Hartford through OSBA. "What your cost is under Hartford is going to be a fraction of what you're paying under American Fidelity right now," Cleavey said, explaining group underwriting spreads risk across the OSBA pool.
Why it matters: the move changes how many supplemental benefits are billed and administered. Under the Hartford group arrangements, voluntary products will generally be payroll-deducted while continued American Fidelity coverage can be retained and billed directly to the employee. Lucanati emphasized that the district's core medical plan and pharmacy vendors remain unchanged (Anthem for medical networks; Carillon for pharmacy) and that the board continues to fund the $2,500 deductible PPO for employees.
Key benefit details outlined in the meeting included guarantee-issue and design limits for Hartford's voluntary plans. Cleavey gave these examples: voluntary employee life guarantee-issue $250,000 (employee), $50,000 (spouse), $20,000 (child); voluntary life may be elected in $10,000 increments to a $500,000 employee maximum; spouse increments in $5,000 steps to $250,000. Short-term disability was described as paying 60% of pre-disability weekly earnings to a $1,500 weekly cap, with two elimination-period options: an 8-day elimination with up to 12 weeks of benefits, or a 30-day elimination with up to 9 weeks. Long-term disability pays 60% of monthly gross earnings to a $6,000 maximum and begins after 90 days, dovetailing with short-term disability so no gap is created.
On supplemental products that fill gaps, Cleavey used common scenarios to explain payouts: Hartford's accident example produced an $850 direct payout in a broken-finger case; hospital indemnity pays $1,000 for the first day of regular confinement (ICU first-day $2,000) and daily amounts thereafter ($150/day regular, $300/day ICU) subject to annual day limits; critical-illness lump-sum elections of $10,000, $20,000 or $30,000 were offered with child benefit $5,000 and spouse coverage at 100% of the employee election. Cleavey noted that critical-illness benefits apply only to diagnoses on or after the plan effective date of 07/01/2026 and that some conditions trigger smaller scheduled payouts (his example: certain skin cancers or lesser strokes may pay reduced amounts based on policy definitions).
Lucanati and Cleavey urged employees who currently hold American Fidelity products to meet with OSBA educators during enrollment so staff can compare existing coverages and explain which Hartford options are comparable. Lucanati said American Fidelity will send letters to employees when payroll deduction for those products ends so policyholders can arrange direct billing if they choose to retain individual policies.
What comes next: employees should schedule one-on-one educator appointments during the April 8'2 window to review plan designs, premium differences and guarantee-issue limits. HR will coordinate virtual questions and appointment scheduling.
Sources and attribution: reporting is based on comments by Dr. Thompson; Randy Lucanati, OSBA representative; and Matt Cleavey, Hartford representative, during a district staff meeting. Direct quotes are from the presenters during the question-and-answer session.
