Eligibility

You’re eligible for benefits if you’re an active, full-time certificated employee regularly scheduled to work at least 18 hours per week. The following dependents are eligible for medical/dental/vision/hearing, life and AD&D coverage:

Your opposite-sex or same-sex spouse or domestic partner, provided your spouse or domestic partner is not an active certificated MNPS employee; if so, he or she must enroll as an employee
Your children under 26 years of age (regardless of where they live) for whom you have legal custody or are the legal guardian; this includes your natural children, stepchildren, foster children, adopted children, children placed for adoption and children for whom you have legal guardianship (Eligibility ends on the last day of the month of their 26th birthday.)
Your incapacitated children age 26 and older, provided they meet the requirements described below

All covered dependents must be listed in the Benefit Express online enrollment system, and you must provide documents certifying the eligibility of each enrolled dependent (e.g., marriage certificate, birth certificate, Declaration of Domestic Partnership, etc.) by uploading copies of those documents to Benefit Express. Benefits are not provided for dependents not listed. A dependent can only be covered once within the same plan. If a change in your dependent’s eligibility occurs, visit Benefit Express to update your coverage.

The following dependents are NOT eligible:

Ex-spouse (even if court ordered)
Parents of the employee or spouse
Children over age 26 (unless they meet qualifications for incapacitation)
Live-in companions who are not legally married to the employee or don’t meet the requirements of a domestic partner

Domestic partners

Domestic partners who wish to enroll must complete and electronically sign a Declaration of Domestic Partnership when you go online to enroll. The declaration states you and your partner are in a committed, long-term relationship and have shared the same residence for the last six months, while not legally married to or separated from another individual during that same six-month period. You must provide three sources of documentation supporting your financial interdependence on one another. You can find the Declaration of Domestic Partnership as well as details about eligibility requirements, possible tax implications and instructions for uploading required documentation at Benefit Express. You may only add your domestic partner and his/her dependent child(ren) during Annual Enrollment or within 60 days of a qualifying life event.

Incapacitated children

Incapacitated children (mentally or physically disabled and incapable of earning a living) may continue MNPS medical and/or dental coverage beyond age 26 provided the incapacity existed and they were insured under the MNPS Certificated Employee Health Plan before their 26th birthday. The child must meet the eligibility requirements described above, and a request for extended coverage must be provided to Employee Benefit Services within 31 days of the dependent’s 26th birthday. Additional proof may be required periodically. Approval for this coverage is determined by the claims administrator for your health insurance company. Coverage will not continue and will not be reinstated once the child is no longer incapacitated.

Domestic partners