Maintaining your dental health is crucial, and understanding your options for continuous coverage when transitioning from state employment is important. For employees previously enrolled in a state-sponsored dental plan, there are pathways to ensure your dental care remains uninterrupted. This guide outlines your choices for continuing dental coverage after leaving your active employment with the State of Tennessee.
One primary option is to continue your current dental coverage through the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act (COBRA). If you were enrolled in a dental plan as an active employee and are leaving state service due to resignation or retirement, COBRA allows you to extend your dental benefits for up to 18 months. Upon termination of your active coverage, a COBRA notification will be sent to your Edison-listed home address. To elect COBRA coverage, you must complete and return the COBRA enrollment form to Benefits Administration within 60 days from either the date your active coverage ends or the date on the COBRA notification letter, whichever is later. If you are a retiree from the Tennessee Consolidated Retirement System, be sure to indicate this with a handwritten note on the signature page of your COBRA enrollment form. It is important to note that dental insurance continuation via COBRA is not automatic upon retirement; you must actively enroll.
If you are not eligible for COBRA, or if you prefer to enroll in a retiree dental plan immediately upon leaving active employment, you can apply directly to Benefits Administration for the retiree dental plan. Eligibility for the retiree dental plan requires you to be a retiree of the Tennessee Consolidated Retirement System or an optional retirement plan retiree from a higher education agency.
Furthermore, even if you initially choose COBRA and your COBRA coverage period expires, as a retiree receiving a monthly pension from the Tennessee Consolidated Retirement System or as a participant in a higher education optional retirement plan, you will have another opportunity to enroll in the retiree dental plan at the end of your COBRA coverage.
Important Note: For complete details regarding benefits, provisions, conditions, limitations, and exclusions for both the Delta Dental and Cigna dental plans, please refer to their respective Certificates of Insurance. In the event of any discrepancies between this summary and the official certificates, the certificates of coverage will be the governing documents. It is highly recommended that you thoroughly review these official documents.
Please click here to visit the Publications page under Dental PPO or Dental HMO – Prepaid Provider to view additional information.
