UCOP Needs to Make the Call to Protect Survivor Health Insurance - Part 2

Don't be afraid, UCOP. Make the call.

We noted in a posting on April 28th that grieving widows and widowers of UC employees are finding that their survivor health insurance benefits are being improperly cancelled when UCOP becomes aware of the death of the retiree. Such cancellation, particularly of a mainly elderly population, puts ongoing health treatments at risk. And it adds unnecessarily to the stress of survivors at a difficult time. 

We also noted that this problem could be corrected by a phone call to the various UC insurance carriers telling them not to cancel survivor policies. And we noted that this problem at UC seems not to exist at other entities that provide comparable retiree/survivor health benefits. 

If you have not read the April 28th post, you can find it at:

http://uclafacultyassociation.blogspot.com/2023/04/ucop-needs-to-make-call-to-protect.html.

You will find an audio recording there in which this issue is discussed. Please read the post at the link above and listen to the recording.

In response to this ongoing situation, the UCLA Emeriti Association board at its meeting of June 7th passed the following resolution:

The UCLA Emeriti Association Board requests that steps be immediately undertaken so that survivor health insurance is not improperly cancelled on the death of a UC retiree. Such cancellations of eligible survivors are contrary to the provisions of the UC retiree health plan. When they occur, health care is potentially disrupted, and major effort and expense are incurred in restoring the benefits that never should have been cancelled in the first place. Our understanding is that cancellations of UC survivor health insurance are repeatedly occurring but do not occur at other systems that provide comparable health care. The insurance carriers who do business with UC must be immediately instructed not to cancel survivor health insurance by UCOP.

This resolution has been forwarded to the Joint Benefits Committee of CUCEA and CUCRA, the systemwide committees of emeriti and retirees as well as to the UCLA Faculty Welfare Committee. Our understanding is that UCOP is working to reduce the length of the improper cancellation period, the period in which survivors are told their coverage has lapsed and before it is restored. But there should be no improper cancellation periods to reduce in the first place. The period should be zero; it shouldn't exist. 

We again urge that UCOP pick up the phone and direct its various insurance carriers, all of which are happy to have contracts with UC covering tens of thousands of actives, retirees, and survivors, not to cancel survivor health benefits.

UCOP...pick...up...the...phone.