Employee Benefits | Vision Service Plan - websites.currentbenefits.Vision.VSP.eligibility


Site Contents	ELIGIBILITY FOR COVERAGE Enrollees: To be eligible for coverage, a person must currently be an employee or member of the Group, and meet the criteria established in the coverage criteria mutually agreed upon by Group and VSP. Eligible Dependents: If dependent coverage is provided, the persons eligible for coverage as dependents shall include the legal spouse of any Enrollee, and any unmarried child of an Enrollee, including any natural child from the moment of birth, legally adopted child from the moment of placement in the residence of the Enrollee, or other child for whom a court holds the Enrollee responsible from the moment of birth who has not obtained the limiting age as shown on the enclosed insert page. A dependent, unmarried child over the limiting age may continue to be eligible as a dependent if the child is incapable of self-sustaining employment because of mental or physical disability, and chiefly dependent upon the enrollee for support and maintenance. PREMIUMS The Group is responsible for payments to VSP of the periodic charges for your coverage. You will be notified of your share of the charges, if any, by your Group. The entire cost of the program is paid to VSP by the Group. COPAYMENT The benefits described herein are available to you from any participating Member Doctor, provided you follow the proper procedures by obtaining Benefit Authorization. THERE MAY BE A COPAYMENT AMOUNT PAYABLE BY YOU TO THE MEMBER DOCTOR AT THE TIME OF THE EXAMINATION. ANY ADDITIONAL CARE, SERVICE AND/OR MATERIALS NOT COVERED BY THIS PLAN MAY BE ARRANGED BETWEEN YOU AND THE DOCTOR. CHOICE OF PROVIDERS Vision care services and vision care materials may be received from any licensed optometrist, ophthalmologist, or dispensing optician, whether Member Doctors or Non-Member Providers. If you elect to receive vision care services from one of the Member Doctors, covered services are provided at no out-of-pocket cost (unless the plan contains a Copayment). When vision care services are received from a Non-Member Provider, you will be reimbursed for such benefits according to the schedule shown on the enclosed insert, less any applicable Copayment. PROCEDURE FOR USING THE PLAN . When you desire to receive Plan Benefits from a Member Doctor, contact VSP or the Member Doctor. If you are eligible, VSP will provide Benefit Authorization to you or the Member Doctor. . When such authorization is received and services are performed prior to the expiration date of the authorization, this will constitute a claim against the Plan in spite of your termination of coverage or the termination of the Plan. Should you receive services from a Member Doctor without such authorization or obtain services from a provider who is not a Member Doctor, you are responsible for payment in full to the provider. . A list of Member Doctors in your geographical location can be obtained from your Group or Plan Administrator This list contains the names, addresses, and telephone numbers of the Member Doctors. If this list does not cover the geographical area in which you desire to seek services, you may call or write the VSP office nearest you to obtain one which does. . You pay only the Copayment (if any) to the doctor for the services covered by the Plan. VSP will pay the Member Doctor directly according to their agreement with the doctor. . In emergency conditions, when immediate vision care is necessary, you can obtain covered services by contacting a Member Doctor. Reimbursement will be made in accordance with the agreement between VSP and the Member Doctor. LIABILITY IN EVENT OF NON-PAYMENT IN THE EVENT VSP FAILS TO PAY THE PROVIDER, YOU SHALL NOT BE LIABLE TO THE PROVIDER FOR ANY SUMS OWED BY THE VISION PLAN OTHER THAN THOSE NOT COVERED BY THE PLAN. INDIVIDUAL CONTINUATION OF BENEFITS This program is available to groups of a minimum of ten (10) employees and is, therefore, not available on an individual basis. When a Group terminates its coverage, individual coverage is not available for Enrollees who may desire to retain same. TERMINATION OF BENEFITS Terms and cancellation conditions of your vision care plan are shown on the enclosed insert. If service is being rendered to you as of the termination date of the Plan, such service shall be continued to completion, but in no event beyond six (6) months after the termination date of the Plan. CLAIMS APPEALS VSP shall notify in writing each Covered Person who submits a claim, if such claim is denied in whole or in part, of the reason or reasons for the denial. Within sixty (60) days after receipt of such notice, a Covered Person may make a written request for review of such denial, by addressing such request to the Plan Administrator, whose address is shown on the enclosed insert. The Covered Person may state the reasons the Covered Person believes that the denial of the claim was in error and may provide any pertinent documents which the Covered Person wishes to be reviewed. The Plan Administrator will review the claim and give the Covered Person the opportunity to review pertinent documents, submit any statements, documents, or written arguments in support of the claim, and appear personally to present materials or arguments. The determination of the Plan Administrator, including specific reasons for the decision, shall be provided and communicated to the Covered Person in writing within one hundred twenty (120) days after receipt of a request for review. OTHER FACTS YOU SHOULD KNOW ABOUT THE PLAN: As a participant in the Plan, you may be entitled to certain rights and protections under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA). ERISA provides that all plan participants shall be entitled to: Examine, without charge, at the Plan Administrator's office, all plan documents such as detailed annual reports and plan descriptions, including insurance contracts, and copies of all documents filed by the Plan with the U.S. Department of Labor or the Internal Revenue Service. Obtain copies of all Plan documents and other Plan information upon written request to the Plan Administrator. The Plan Administrator may make a reasonable charge for the copies. Receive a summary of the Plan's annual financial report. The Plan Administrator is required by law to furnish each participant with a copy of this summary annual report. In addition to creating rights for plan participants, ERISA imposes duties upon the people who are responsible for the operation of the employee benefit plan. The people who operate your Plan, called "fiduciaries" of the Plan, have a duty to do so prudently and in the interest of you and other plan participants and beneficiaries. No one, including your employer, or any other person, may fire you or otherwise discriminate against you in any way to prevent you from obtaining a benefit or exercising your rights under ERISA. If your claim for a benefit is denied in whole or in part, you must receive a written explanation of the reason for the denial. You have the right to have the Plan reviewed and your claim reconsidered. Under ERISA, there are steps you can take to enforce the above rights. For instance, if you request materials from the Plan and do not receive them within 30 days, you may file suit in a federal court. In such a case, the court may require the Plan Administrator to provide the materials and pay you up to $100 a day until you receive the materials, unless the materials were not sent to you because of reasons beyond the control of the administrator. If you have a claim for benefits which is denied or ignored, in whole or in part, you may file suit in a state or federal court. If it should happen that Plan fiduciaries misuse the Plan's money, or if you are discriminated against for asserting your rights, you may seek assistance from the U.S. Department of Labor, or you may file suit in a federal court. The court will decide who should pay court costs and fees. If you lose, the court may order you to pay these costs and fees if, for example, it finds your claim frivolous. If you have any questions about your Plan, you should contact the Plan Administrator. If you have any questions about this statement or about you rights under ERISA, you should contact the nearest Area Office of the U.S. Labor-Management Services Administration, Department of Labor. The Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1985 (COBRA) requires that under certain circumstances health plan benefits available to an eligible participant and his or her dependents be made available for purchase by said persons upon the termination of employment of said participant, or the termination of the relationship between said participant and his or her dependents. The Plan Administrator and the employer are subject to numerous obligations in connection with continuation coverage, including an obligation to notify eligible participants and their dependents of the existence of said continuation coverage. In this regard, the U.S. Department of Labor has issued ERISA Technical Release No. 86-2 dated June 26, 1986, setting forth a Model Statement of the required notice. Providing said notice by first class mail to each covered employee and his or her spouse, if any, at their last known address will constitute a good faith effort at compliance of the notice requirement in the absence of promulgated COBRA regulations.
	NAVIGATION Introduction \| Coverages \| Exclusions \| Eligibility Denver Public Schools Employee Benefits Department 900 Grant Street, Room 502 Denver, Colorado 80203 (303) 764-3371