Part-Time Faculty Health Insurance

Through our union advocacy and collective bargaining power, there are now three paths to health insurance for part-time faculty at PCC.

Group Insurance Through the College

The insurance is earned in the academic year (September-August) prior to enrollment in a particular health care plan. A faculty member must work 1.5 FTE for the Academic year or approximately six four credit classes over the course of an academic year, Fall through Summer.

A large packet is mailed in early August to your home if you meet this threshold, 1.5 FTE. The enrollment period is August 15th to September 15th with insurance beginning on October 1st and running until September 30 of the following year.

If offered insurance you MUST go on line and either enroll in a plan or Opt-Out of the insurance.

Article 18.6 in the Faculty Agreement describes the Group Insurance through the college.

Partial Reimbursement for Insurance Purchased

Partial reimbursement for the cost of your medical insurance policy is through the Health Insurance Trust Fund administered by the Federation. The Federation has negotiated with the College for $40,000 per academic year or $10,000 per term for the Health Insurance Trust.

Each term Part-Time faculty who are NOT eligible for the PCC Group insurance but who have purchased insurance or who have insurance coverage through a spouse or significant other and who are working the term in which they apply may receive the reimbursement.

TO QUALIFY:

1. You must be teaching a class in the term for which you are applying.
2. You must have worked at PCC for 3 of the last 4 terms.
3. You must provide proof of an insurance policy that costs $50 per month or more.

The amount each applicant receives in any term varies based upon the number of faculty who are eligible. The amount has been averaging about $300 per applicant. Each term, $10,000 is distributed by the Federation.

Article 18.62: Health Insurance Trust

TO APPLY:

Fill out the application below. You must reapply every term by the deadline on the form.

Health Reimbursement Application

SB 551: Part-Time Faculty Health Insurance for Instructors Teaching at One or More Public Institutions

During the 2021 regular legislative session, the Oregon Legislature passed Senate Bill 551, one of AFT-Oregon’s priority pieces of legislation.

➜ Read Oregon Educators Benefit Board’s new page about the program.

This bill makes employee-only healthcare benefits available to qualifying part-time faculty members at public institutions of higher education (both universities and community colleges) by allowing “part-time” or adjunct instructors who teach at multiple Oregon state institutions to pool all of their higher ed employment.

This is nationally significant legislation, as it is the first time that a state has acknowledged its responsibility to help cover the cost of insurance for job-insecure instructors whose teaching contributions make public higher education possible.

The new program makes insurance available for anyone whose combined teaching hours across institutions is at least half-time for three of the last four quarters. Since different institutions define full and half time differently, determining eligibility will not be straightforward.

This new process will not affect any instructors who received notice of eligibility for health insurance and made their selection through OEBB before the 9/15/21 deadline nor who those opted out.

If you are eligible, declare PCC your home institution.

Part-time faculty members who work at one or more public institutions qualify for these health care benefits, as long the aggregate/combined hours worked between the various institutions totals at least half of full-time.

Faculty members who work at one or more institutions will be required to select one “home institution” from which to receive their health care benefits – a public institution where the member is currently employed at the time of their application.

Your “home institution” will be responsible for determining your eligibility, as well as your continuing eligibility on a semiannual basis. This institution will also be responsible for collecting any applicable premium payments from the enrolled faculty member, as well as paying the full cost of the premium for its enrolled employees.

This law went into effect on July 19, 2021. The next open enrollment period will be August 15-September 15, 2022, and we expect the Oregon Legislature will fine tune some of the rules on this in the next legislative session.

If you think you might be eligible, contact [email protected] and ask for the “Declaration of Home Institution” or similarly named form.