Eligibility and Enrollment

Eligibility

Regular full-time or part-time employees scheduled to work 20 hours or more per week are eligible for benefits.

Full-time temporary positions on a six-month or longer assignment are eligible for health, dental, vision and life insurance, but not disability.

If you elect coverage, your dependents are also eligible for health, dental, vision and life insurance coverage. Eligible dependents include:

1. Your legal spouse.
2. Your legal child(ren). Child(ren) includes your natural, adopted or foster child(ren), stepchild(ren), your same sex partner's child(ren) or any child for whom you have legal custody. They are eligible if:

• Up to age 26
• Regardless of age, if fully disabled and unmarried, provided he/she became fully disabled either prior to age 19 or between the ages of 19-26, if that child was covered by the plan when the disability occurred.

Dependent Verification of Eligibility

When you first enroll, or if you change coverage mid-year due to a qualified IRS Family Status Change, you are required to provide documentation substantiating the eligibility of your dependent(s) within 31 days of the change or enrollment. Documentation can be uploaded in Self-Service (Click on the Benefits tile, then Document Upload).

If documentation is not received within 31 days, you will be mailed a letter requesting the documentation within a given deadline.

Eligibility Charts

Benefits eligibility also depends on your individual employment status at Emory University. The following charts detail the types of benefits different employment classes are eligible for:

• View the Staff Eligibility Chart
• View the Faculty Eligibility Chart
• View the Medical Residents and Post Docs Eligibility Chart
• Emory Clinic Physicians Eligibility Chart

How to Enroll

New Hires

Eligible new hires can enroll through Self-Service anytime during the first 31 days of employment. View Step-by-Step Enrollment Instructions.

If you do not enroll during your first 31 days of employment, you will not receive coverage. Your next opportunity to enroll will be during annual enrollment. 

Current Employees

Current employees are provided an opportunity to make changes to their benefits each year during annual enrollment.

Computer Access

You can enroll online using any computer that has Internet connectivity. To access Self-Service, you will need your network ID and password. If you don't know your network ID or password, call the Office of Information Technology help desk at 404-727-7777 (M-F, 7:00 am - 6:00 pm).

When Coverage Begins and Ends

For most benefits, coverage begins on an employee's date of hire.

If you are benefits-eligible, you must enroll during your first 31 days of employment with Emory.

For optional benefits, other than the 403(b), if you do not enroll during your first 31 days of employment, you will not receive coverage. Your next opportunity to enroll in optional benefits will be during annual enrollment, or within 31 days of a qualified Family Status Change.

Life and disability benefits require Evidence of Insurability for late enrollees.

When coverage ends

Medical, dental, vision and life coverage will end on the last day of the month in which:

• Your regular work schedule is reduced to fewer than 20 hours per week;
• Your employment with Emory ends due to resignation, termination or death; or
• You stop paying your share of the coverage.

Your dependent(s) coverage ends:

• When your coverage ends, or
• The last day of the month the dependent is no longer eligible.  For Dependent Child(ren): End of the month in which they turn 26.

Other benefits including disability end on the last day of employment in an eligible status.

Making Changes Throughout the Year

The IRS provides strict regulations about changes to pre-tax elections during the plan year. If you experience a qualified IRS Family Status Change midyear, you are permitted to make a change provided the change request occurs within 31 days of the event.

If the change request is not completed within 31 days of the event, you will not be able to change your health elections until the following year’s annual enrollment.

Learn more about making benefits changes.