Who is Eligible for Benefits?
- Full-Time employee who works at least 30 hours per week on a consistent basis are eligible for benefits.
- Legally Married Spouse
- Domestic Partner (annual affidavit required)
- Children* up to the age of 26
- Dependent children of any age who are physically or mentally unable to care for themselves once proof* of the ongoing disability is provided.
*Children may include natural, legally adopted, stepchildren and children obtained through court-appointed legal guardianship.
**Members have 31 days after the date on which maximum age is attained to submit ongoing disability information.
Open Enrollment
Open Enrollment is November 3rd – November 28th, 2025.
This is your once-a-year opportunity to pick your plans or make changes to your existing coverage. The choices you make during Open Enrollment will become effective on January 1st of the benefits plan year and will remain in effect through December 31st of that plan year.
When you complete the open enrollment process, you can:
- Change your current coverage, if needed
- Enroll in benefits for the first time, if newly hired or newly eligible for benefits
- Update your dependent information
- Update your beneficiary information
New and Newly Eligible Employees
Please visit our New Employee welcome page.
You will be eligible as a new full-time employee the 1st of the month coinciding or following 60 days of continuous employment.
Employees promoted from part-time to full-time will receive credit towards the 60 day probationary period.
- If a part-time employee that transitions to full-time has already worked 60 days, coverage is effective the first of the following month after reaching full-time status.
- If not, the effective date will be the first of the month that coincides with or next follows 60 days, reduced by the number of days of service as a part-time employee.
Qualifying Life Event
What is a Qualifying Life Event?
Certain life events provide you a window to elect benefits or change your covered dependents.
If you experience any of the scenarios below, you may be eligible to update your benefit elections mid-year:
- Change of legal marital status (i.e. marriage, divorce, death of spouse, legal separation)
- Change in number of dependents (i.e. birth, adoption, death of dependent, ineligibility due to age)
- Change in employment or job status (spouse loses job, etc.)
- Loss or gain of other health coverage for you and/or dependents
- Change in Medicaid/Medicare eligibility for you or a dependent
- Receipt of a Qualified Medical Child Support Order
If such a change occurs, you must make a request to the benefits administrator at Northwest Center within 60 days of the event date.
Documentation may be required to verify your change of status.
Failure to request a change of family status within the required timeframe may result in your having to wait until the next open enrollment period to make your requested change.
The change must be one that impacts eligibility and corresponds with the family member that is impacted.