Carroll County Schools Employee Benefits

Carroll County Schools Employee Benefits

We offer a range of benefits to help you take care of yourself, your family, and your future.

Some of these the school system pays for, others we share the cost with you, and a few are optional and solely your responsibility. We encourage you to review each option carefully to help you make the best choices for yourself and your loved ones.

Enrollment Timing

As a new hire, you have 30 days from your date of hire to enroll in benefits. You may not change your benefit selections until the next Open Enrollment period unless you experience a Qualifying Life Event.

Health insurance benefits for Carroll County Schools employees are offered through the State Health Benefit Plan (SHBP), established by the Georgia legislature. There are three health plan carriers available to employees and their families: Anthem, UnitedHealthcare (UHC), and Kaiser Permanente. Each carrier has multiple plan options available, and each plan includes coverage for preventive care, visits to primary care and specialty care providers, coverage for hospital stays, pharmacy, and visits to urgent care & the emergency room. Take advantage of Decision Support Tools to help you select the healthcare option that best meets your personal and financial needs!

Flexible Spending Accounts (FSA) allow you to set aside pre-tax funds from your paycheck that are placed into a special account to pay for eligible healthcare and dependent day care expenses. You may enroll in the Healthcare FSA for medical, dental, vision, pharmacy, and other related expenses and/or the Dependent Care FSA, primarily for dependent day care expenses. AmeriComp Benefits provides a debit card to all FSA enrollees upon initial enrollment that can be used at the point-of-service to pay for your healthcare or dependent day care expenses.

Dental Insurance is designed to offer you coverage for preventative dental care services and to help you budget for common dental care issues. With the Sunlife Dental plans offered by Carroll County Schools, you can enjoy coverage without the constraints of a network. You have the freedom to choose any dentist, and benefits are reimbursed according to a scheduled plan. Both plan options provide coverage for preventive services like exams, cleanings, and x-rays as well as benefits for common dental treatments like fillings, root canals, and extractions. The Buy-up plan option also offers more enhanced benefits for services like crowns, bridges, implants and orthodontia for children.

Whether your vision is 20/20 or less than perfect, you can help protect your eyesight by visiting an eye doctor regularly. As part of our commitment to your well-being, Sunlife vision benefits are available to you and your eligible dependents. Through the VSP Vision national provider network, enrollees receive a comprehensive vision examination, as well as coverage for eyeglasses (lenses and frames), or contact lenses in lieu of eyeglasses. With this plan, you can visit any provider you choose, but you maximize your savings when you visit a network provider.

Life Insurance can help provide financial protection for your family if you pass away. The money received from a life insurance policy could help your family with both everyday and future expenses, including medical bills, funeral costs, utilities, college tuition, and mortgage payments. Carroll County Schools provides all full-time employees with Basic Life and Accidental Death and Dismemberment coverage at no cost to the employee. Optional Life and Supplement Life Insurance policies are also available for purchase through OneAmerica and provide the opportunity to supplement the benefits provided by Carroll County Schools. You may consider purchasing additional life insurance at favorable group rates

As a Carroll County Schools employee, you have the option to elect a wide range of short term and/or long term disability coverage options through OneAmerica. Since everyone's needs are different, these plans offer flexibility for you to choose a benefit option that fits your income replacement needs and budget. These plans pay a benefit should you become disabled and unable to work, and provide you with financial protection in the event of a qualifying illness or injury. Conditions that can trigger Short Term Disability are usually temporary in nature, such as pregnancy, broken bones, sprains, or minor surgery. Long Term Disability is most often used in situations of a catastrophic injury or illness.

A Lump Sum Disability policy from OneAmerica is available on a standalone basis or as an add-on option to supplement your short and long term policies. If you become permanently and totally disabled and unable to work for two years or more, a single payment can be made to help meet your additional expenses for immediate needs. Flexible coverage options allow you to pick the benefit amount that suits your budget and needs.

Critical Illness insurance pays a lump sum benefit upon the diagnosis of a named critical condition or certain category of diseases. Should you or a family member suffer a serious illness like a stroke or heart attack, the SunLife Critical Illness policy can help with both medical and day-to-day living expenses. Benefits are paid when you need it most, upon diagnosis, so you can rest assured that you will have less worry about costs. Varying plan options let you choose the amount of coverage you need.

Cancer Insurance through SunLife pays monetary benefits to you and your family based on the treatments related to a covered cancer diagnosis. The benefit payments help maintain financial security during the recovery period and can be used to help with the out-of-pocket medical and non-medical expenses of the illness. Coverage is relatively affordable and is available to both employees and their families.

Life Events May Impact Your Benefits

A Qualified Life Event allows you to change your benefit selections outside Open Enrollment. These events include significant life changes such as getting married, having a baby, or getting divorced.

Types of Qualified Life Events

Loss of Coverage

Losing existing health coverage, including job-based, individual, and student plans
Losing eligibility for Medicare, Medicaid, or CHIP
Turning 26 and losing coverage through a parent’s health plan

Change in Household

Getting married or divorced
Having a baby or adopting a child
Death in the family

If You Experience a Qualified Life Event

Contact HR and notify them about the event as soon as possible. You only have 30 days from the date of your event to make your benefit changes.