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Find out what you need to do if you:

    Join Valassis
    Get Married
    Want to Add a Domestic Partner
    Start a Family
    Leave Valassis
    Experience Other Changes...

 

 
DENTAL
Making Changes

Under IRS rules and/or state regulations, once you have made your dental plan elections for the coming year, you may not change them during that year unless you have a qualified change in status that results in the gain or loss of eligibility for coverage. Qualified changes in status generally include changes in:

  • Your marital status, including marriage, civil union, divorce, legal separation, annulment or death of a spouse
  • Entering or terminating a domestic partnership (Valassis policy, not IRS regulations, allows this change)
  • The number of your dependents, including birth, adoption, placement for adoption or death of a dependent
  • Employment status for you, your spouse or dependent, such as starting a new job, starting or returning from a leave of absence or stopping employment
  • Work schedule, such as a switch between part-time (less than 37.5 hours per week) and full-time employment (37.5 hours or more per week)
  • Dependent status (for example, your dependent child over age 19 is no longer a full-time student)
  • Residence or work location for you, your spouse or dependent (for example, you move out of your DMO network service area)

If you make an election change, it must be consistent with your change in status and must be made within 31 days of the event. If you marry, for example, you may add your spouse to your dental plan.

If you have a qualified change in status, you must contact your Human Resources Representative (Valassis Communications, Inc. and NCH associates paid through ADP) or access www.valassisbenefits.com within 31 calendar days of the qualified change in status (Valassis Direct Mail and Sales & Marketing associates paid through PeopleSoft). You will be required to supply additional documentation to support your change, which will need to be submitted within 31 days of the event as well. Otherwise, you will need to wait until the next open enrollment period to make a change.

This 31-day limit does not apply to court orders that are determined to be Qualified Medical Child Support Orders requiring you to cover an eligible child under the dental plan. Valassis must follow the terms of such a qualified court order regardless of when it is received.

Note: Your physician leaving the DMO network is not considered a qualifying event. You will not be able to change your dental plan option until the next open enrollment period.

Other Opportunities to Change Your Elections
In addition to qualified changes in status, IRS rules permit you to make election changes during the year in the following circumstances:

  • Court orders. If a Qualified Medical Child Support Order is issued requiring health coverage for your child, you may change your dental plan election to provide coverage for that child.

If one of these events occurs and you wish to make a related change in your current dental plan enrollment, you must contact your Human Resources Representative (Valassis Communications, Inc. and NCH associates paid through ADP) or the Associate Resource Center (Valassis Direct Mail and Sales & Marketing associates paid through PeopleSoft) within 31 calendar days of the event.

Topics
Nav Bullet Highlights
Nav Bullet Eligibility, Enrollment & Cost
Nav Bullet Plan Options
Nav Bullet Choosing a Network Dentist
Nav Bullet Making Changes
Nav Bullet Covered Expenses & Services
Nav Bullet Expenses Not Covered
Nav Bullet Coverage Rules
Nav Bullet Predetermination of Benefits
Nav Bullet Filing a Claim
Nav Bullet Numbers, Addresses & Links

Summary Plan Description
The legal summary of this benefit will be included in the 2008 Benefits Handbook.

 

   Important Legal Information: This site is designed to provide easy-to-understand explanations of the key features of the Valassis benefit plans. These descriptions do not necessarily include all the plan details, which are contained in the official plan documents. In the event of any contradiction between the information in these Summary Plan Descriptions and the official plan documents, the official plan documents will govern in all cases. More information...