About Us
COBRA/HIPAA
Continuation of Group Coverage (COBRA)
If you or your dependents lose eligibility for coverage, UT System will offer you the option to continue coverage for the following plans:
- Medical
- Dental
- Vision
- In some cases, Flexible Spending Accounts
You will automatically receive this enrollment package at the address listed in myHR within 14 days of losing eligibility for coverage.
You are responsible for the full premium for elected COBRA coverages.
If you lose eligibility for coverage and are already enrolled in the following plans, you may be able to access a conversion benefit provided as part of these plans:
- Dearborn National Basic Life Insurance
- Dearborn National Voluntary Group Term Life Insurance
- Dearborn National Long Term Disability
- CNA Long-Term Care
To enroll you must call myHR at 713-745-6947 to receive required forms and send to the insurance companies within 31 days of the end of the month in which your benefits-eligibility status changes or terminates.
You are responsible for the full premium for converted coverages. See COBRA Rates.
HIPAA
Title 1 of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) imposes certain requirements on group health plans, including:
- Limitations on pre-existing condition exclusion periods
- Special enrollment periods for individuals (and dependents) losing other coverage
- Prohibitions against discriminating against individual participants and beneficiaries based on health status
- Standards relating to benefits for mothers and newborns
- Parity in the application of certain limits to mental health benefits
HIPAA also permits certain self-funded, governmental group health plans the right of exemption from certain provisions of this federal law. The Office of Employee Benefits has elected to exempt The University of Texas self-funded health plan (UT Select) from most of the HIPAA provisions listed above. Pre-existing condition limitations are no longer included in the UT Select plan; however, some plan limitations and exclusions apply.
UT Select does not have annual or lifetime maximums. Serious Mental Illness (as defined in Chapter 1601 of the Texas Insurance Code) will be treated as any other illness under UT Select.
Although The University system is exempt from the HIPAA provisions relating to hospital stays for mothers and newborns, it is our intent to satisfy all the requirements for maternity and newborn benefits as set out in HIPAA regulations.
Title 2 of HIPAA requires self-funded health plans to comply with certain regulations concerning the privacy and security of personally identifiable health information that the plan collects or maintains about its enrollees. A copy of the privacy notice and policies that apply to UT Select, UT Dental Select and UT Flex can be found on UT System's HIPAA Policies and Forms page.
Contact Information
myHR
713-745-6947
Monday - Friday 7:30 a.m. - 5:30 p.m.
Useful Links
UT Benefits Handbook for Employees
For MD Anderson Employees
Review your insurance benefits by logging in to myHR.