Extended Benefit Fund FAQs

Contact the Fund’s insurance partner to request an ID card. You may also be able to print one out from their website.

The Fund has an hours requirement for initial eligibility and for continuing eligibility. See the Extended Benefit Plan Eligibility section for more detailed information.

No, the Fund Office may need to verify your hours worked. You may need to provide pay stubs to verify that you’re working and maintaining hours. Please contact the Fund Office if you have questions about your eligibility.

We are sure you have heard and read about the federal health care law which was enacted into law in 2010, known as the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act or "ACA."  The ACA is one of the most sweeping laws to impact our Extended Benefit Fund because it affects many of our rules.  Here are some of the ACA alterations made:

  • The Fund now provides dependent coverage for married or unmarried adult children to the last day of the month that includes their 26th birthday;
  • The Fund no longer imposes an annual dollar limit on what the ACA defines as "essential health benefits";
  • The Fund no longer imposes any pre-existing condition exclusions (i.e., exclusions for a medical condition and/or health problem that existed before the date the individual enrolled in the Extended Benefit Fund); and
  • The Fund now provides participants with an annual "Summary of Benefits and Coverage" or SBC, which is a uniform summary of benefits, using standardized definitions and government-approved language.

For 2014 and later, the ACA generally requires all individuals (and any dependents of the individual) to maintain "minimum essential coverage" (MEC) or they must pay a penalty to the IRS which is the greater of a flat dollar amount or a percentage of household income.  The Extended Benefit Fund's coverage currently satisfies the MEC requirement, so maintaining Extended Benefit Fund coverage helps you avoid this IRS penalty.

Starting in 2015, the ACA requires us to obtain Social Security Numbers (SSNs).  To document the fact that covered individuals have health coverage which complies with the ACA's "individual mandate," the Fund is required to report various information to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), including:

  1. the first and last name of each covered member and all dependents (spouse and qualifying child(ren) up to age 26),
  2. the SSNs of each individual, and
  3. the number of months that each individual had coverage through the Fund.

Providing us with this information will help you avoid potential tax penalties when you file your tax returns with the IRS.