IMPORTANT NOTICE FROM FRONTIER TECHNOLOGY, LLC DBA MICROAGE ABOUT YOUR PRESCRIPTION DRUG COVERAGE AND MEDICARE
Please read this notice carefully and keep it where you can find it. This notice has information about your current prescription drug coverage with Frontier Technology, LLC dba MicroAge and about your options under Medicare’s prescription drug coverage. This information can help you decide whether you want to join a Medicare drug plan. Information about where you can get help to make decisions about your prescription drug coverage is at the end of this notice.
If neither you nor any of your covered dependents are eligible for or have Medicare, this notice does not apply to you or your dependents, as the case may be. However, you should still keep a copy of this notice in the event you or a dependent should qualify for coverage under Medicare in the future. Please note, however, that later notices might supersede this notice.
- Medicare prescription drug coverage became available in 2006 to everyone with Medicare. You can get this coverage if you join a Medicare Prescription Drug Plan or join a Medicare Advantage Plan (like an HMO or PPO) that offers prescription drug coverage. All Medicare drug plans provide at least a standard level of coverage set by Medicare. Some plans may also offer more coverage for a higher monthly premium.
- Frontier Technology, LLC dba MicroAge has determined that the prescription drug coverage offered by the Frontier Technology, LLC dba MicroAge Employee Health Care Plan (“Plan”) is, on average for all plan participants, expected to pay out as much as standard Medicare prescription drug coverage pays and is considered “creditable” prescription drug coverage. This is important for the reasons described below.
Because your existing coverage is, on average, at least as good as standard Medicare prescription drug coverage, you can keep this coverage and not pay a higher premium (a penalty) if you later decide to enroll in a Medicare drug plan, as long as you later enroll within specific time periods.
Enrolling in Medicare—General Rules
As some background, you can join a Medicare drug plan when you first become eligible for Medicare. If you qualify for Medicare due to age, you may enroll in a Medicare drug plan during a seven-month initial enrollment period. That period begins three months prior to your 65th birthday, includes the month you turn 65, and continues for the ensuing three months. If you qualify for Medicare due to disability or end-stage renal disease, your initial Medicare Part D enrollment period depends on the date your disability or treatment began. For more information you should contact Medicare at the telephone number or web address listed below.
Late Enrollment and the Late Enrollment Penalty
If you decide to wait to enroll in a Medicare drug plan you may enroll later, during Medicare Part D’s annual enrollment period, which runs each year from October 15 through December 7. But as a general rule, if you delay your enrollment in Medicare Part D, after first becoming eligible to enroll, you may have to pay a higher premium (a penalty).
If after your initial Medicare Part D enrollment period you go 63 continuous days or longer without “creditable” prescription drug coverage (that is, prescription drug coverage that’s at least as good as Medicare’s prescription drug coverage), your monthly Part D premium may go up by at least 1 percent of the premium you would have paid had you enrolled timely, for every month that you did not have creditable coverage.
For example, if after your Medicare Part D initial enrollment period you go 19 months without coverage, your premium may be at least 19% higher than the premium you otherwise would have paid. You may have to pay this higher premium for as long as you have Medicare prescription drug coverage. However, there are some important exceptions to the late enrollment penalty.
Special Enrollment Period Exceptions to the Late Enrollment Penalty
There are “special enrollment periods” that allow you to add Medicare Part D coverage months or even years after you first became eligible to do so, without a penalty. For example, if after your Medicare Part D initial enrollment period you lose or decide to leave employer-sponsored or union-sponsored health coverage that includes “creditable” prescription drug coverage, you will be eligible to join a Medicare drug plan at that time.
In addition, if you otherwise lose other creditable prescription drug coverage (such as under an individual policy) through no fault of your own, you will be able to join a Medicare drug plan, again without penalty. These special enrollment periods end two months after the month in which your other coverage ends.
Compare Coverage
You should compare your current coverage, including which drugs are covered at what cost, with the coverage and costs of the plans offering Medicare prescription drug coverage in your area. See the Frontier Technology, LLC dba MicroAge Plan’s summary plan description for a summary of the Plan’s prescription drug coverage. If you don’t have a copy, you can get one by contacting us at the telephone number or address listed below.
Coordinating Other Coverage With Medicare Part D
Generally speaking, if you decide to join a Medicare drug plan while covered under the Frontier Technology, LLC dba MicroAge Plan due to your employment (or someone else’s employment, such as a spouse or parent), your coverage under the Frontier Technology, LLC dba MicroAge Plan will not be affected. For most persons covered under the Plan, the Plan will pay prescription drug benefits first, and Medicare will determine its payments second. For more information about this issue of what program pays first and what program pays second, see the Plan’s summary plan description or contact Medicare at the telephone number or web address listed below.
If you do decide to join a Medicare drug plan and drop your Frontier Technology, LLC dba MicroAge prescription drug coverage, be aware that you and your dependents may not be able to get this coverage back. To regain coverage you would have to re-enroll in the Plan, pursuant to the Plan’s eligibility and enrollment rules. You should review the Plan’s summary plan description to determine if and when you are allowed to add coverage.
For More Information About This Notice or Your Current Prescription Drug Coverage...
Contact the person listed below for further information, or call 480-366-2031. NOTE: You’ll get this notice each year. You will also get it before the next period you can join a Medicare drug plan, and if this coverage through Frontier Technology, LLC dba MicroAge changes. You also may request a copy.
For More Information About Your Options Under Medicare Prescription Drug Coverage...
More detailed information about Medicare plans that offer prescription drug coverage is in the “Medicare & You” handbook. You’ll get a copy of the handbook in the mail every year from Medicare. You may also be contacted directly by Medicare drug plans.
For more information about Medicare prescription drug coverage:
- Visit www.medicare.gov.
- Call your State Health Insurance Assistance Program (see the inside back cover of your copy of the “Medicare &
You” handbook for their telephone number) for personalized help, - Call 1-800-MEDICARE (1-800-633-4227). TTY users should call 1-877-486-2048.
If you have limited income and resources, extra help paying for Medicare prescription drug coverage is available. For information about this extra help, visit Social Security on the web at www.socialsecurity.gov, or call them at 1-800- 772-1213 (TTY 1-800-325-0778).
Remember: Keep this Creditable Coverage notice. If you decide to join one of the Medicare drug plans, you may be required to provide a copy of this notice when you join to show whether or not you have maintained creditable coverage and whether or not you are required to pay a higher premium (a penalty).
Date: November 1, 2021
Name of Entity/Sender: Joelle Fosco
Contact—Position/Office: Executive Director of Human Resources
Address: 8160 S Hardy Drive Tempe, Arizona 85284
Phone Number: 480-366-2031
Nothing in this notice gives you or your dependents a right to coverage under the Plan. Your (or your dependents’) right to coverage under the Plan is determined solely under the terms of the Plan.
FRONTIER TECHNOLOGY, LLC DBA MICROAGE
IMPORTANT NOTICE
COMPREHENSIVE NOTICE OF PRIVACY POLICY AND PROCEDURES
THIS NOTICE DESCRIBES HOW MEDICAL INFORMATION ABOUT YOU MAY BE USED AND DISCLOSED AND HOW YOU CAN GET ACCESS TO THIS INFORMATION. PLEASE REVIEW IT CAREFULLY.
This notice is provided to you on behalf of:
Frontier Technology, LLC dba MicroAge Health and Welfare Benefit Plan*
* This notice pertains only to healthcare coverage provided under the plan.
The Plan’s Duty to Safeguard Your Protected Health Information
Individually identifiable information about your past, present, or future health or condition, the provision of health care to you, or payment for the health care is considered “Protected Health Information” (“PHI”). The Plan is required to extend certain protections to your PHI, and to give you this notice about its privacy practices that explains how, when, and why the Plan may use or disclose your PHI. Except in specified circumstances, the Plan may use or disclose only the minimum necessary PHI to accomplish the purpose of the use or disclosure.
The Plan is required to follow the privacy practices described in this notice, though it reserves the right to change those practices and the terms of this notice at any time. If it does so, and the change is material, you will receive a revised version of this Notice either by hand delivery, mail delivery to your last known address, or some other fashion. This notice, and any material revisions of it, will also be provided to you in writing upon your request (ask your Human Resources representative, or contact the Plan’s Privacy Official, described below), and will be posted on any website maintained by Frontier Technology, LLC dba MicroAge that describes benefits available to employees and dependents.
You may also receive one or more other privacy notices from insurance companies that provide benefits under the Plan. Those notices will describe how the insurance companies use and disclose PHI and your rights with respect to the PHI they maintain.
How the Plan May Use and Disclose Your Protected Health Information
The Plan uses and discloses PHI for a variety of reasons. For its routine uses and disclosures it does not require your authorization, but for other uses and disclosures, your authorization (or the authorization of your personal representative (e.g., a person who is your custodian, guardian, or has your power-of-attorney) may be required. The following offers more description and examples of the Plan’s uses and disclosures of your PHI.
- Uses and Disclosures Relating to Treatment, Payment, or Health Care Operations.
- Treatment: Generally, and as you would expect, the Plan is permitted to disclose your PHI for purposes of
your medical treatment. Thus, it may disclose your PHI to doctors, nurses, hospitals, emergency medical technicians, pharmacists, and other health care professionals where the disclosure is for your medical treatment. For example, if you are injured in an accident, and it’s important for your treatment team to know your blood type, the Plan could disclose that PHI to the team in order to allow it to more effectively provide treatment to you. - Payment: Of course, the Plan’s most important function, as far as you are concerned, is that it pays for all or some of the medical care you receive (provided the care is covered by the Plan). In the course of its payment operations, the Plan receives a substantial amount of PHI about you. For example, doctors, hospitals, and pharmacies that provide you care send the Plan detailed information about the care they provided, so that they can be paid for their services. The Plan may also share your PHI with other plans in certain cases. For example, if you are covered by more than one health care plan (e.g., covered by this Plan and your spouse’s plan or covered by the plans covering your father and mother), we may share your PHI with the other plans to coordinate payment of your claims.
- Health care Operations: The Plan may use and disclose your PHI in the course of its “health care operations.” For example, it may use your PHI in evaluating the quality of services you received or disclose your PHI to an accountant or attorney for audit purposes. In some cases, the Plan may disclose your PHI to insurance companies for purposes of obtaining various insurance coverages. However, the Plan will not
disclose, for underwriting purposes, PHI that is genetic information.
- Treatment: Generally, and as you would expect, the Plan is permitted to disclose your PHI for purposes of
- Other Uses and Disclosures of Your PHI Not Requiring Authorization. The law provides that the Plan may
use and disclose your PHI without authorization in the following circumstances:- To the Plan Sponsor: The Plan may disclose PHI to the employers (such as Frontier Technology, LLC dba
MicroAge) who sponsor or maintain the Plan for the benefit of employees and dependents. However, the PHI may only be used for limited purposes, and may not be used for purposes of employment-related actions or decisions or in connection with any other benefit or employee benefit plan of the employers. PHI may be disclosed to: the human resources or employee benefits department for purposes of enrollments and disenrollments, census, claim resolutions, and other matters related to Plan administration; payroll department for purposes of ensuring appropriate payroll deductions and other payments by covered persons for their coverage; information technology department, as needed for preparation of data compilations and reports related to Plan administration; finance department for purposes of reconciling appropriate payments of premium to and benefits from the Plan, and other matters related to Plan administration; internal legal counsel to assist with resolution of claim, coverage, and other disputes related to the Plan’s provision of benefits. - To the Plan’s Service Providers: The Plan may disclose PHI to its service providers (“business associates”) who perform claim payment and plan management services. The Plan requires a written contract that obligates the business associate to safeguard and limit the use of PHI.
- Required by Law: The Plan may disclose PHI when a law requires that it report information about suspected abuse, neglect, or domestic violence, or relating to suspected criminal activity, or in response to a court order. It must also disclose PHI to authorities that monitor compliance with these privacy requirements.
- For Public Health Activities: The Plan may disclose PHI when required to collect information about disease or injury, or to report vital statistics to the public health authority.
- For Health Oversight Activities: The Plan may disclose PHI to agencies or departments responsible for monitoring the health care system for such purposes as reporting or investigation of unusual incidents.
- Relating to Decedents: The Plan may disclose PHI relating to an individual’s death to coroners, medical examiners, or funeral directors, and to organ procurement organizations relating to organ, eye, or tissue donations or transplants.
- For Research Purposes: In certain circumstances, and under strict supervision of a privacy board, the Plan may disclose PHI to assist medical and psychiatric research.
- To Avert Threat to Health or Safety: In order to avoid a serious threat to health or safety, the Plan may disclose PHI as necessary to law enforcement or other persons who can reasonably prevent or lessen the threat of harm.
- For Specific Government Functions: The Plan may disclose PHI of military personnel and veterans in certain situations, to correctional facilities in certain situations, to government programs relating to eligibility and enrollment, and for national security reasons.
- To the Plan Sponsor: The Plan may disclose PHI to the employers (such as Frontier Technology, LLC dba
- Uses and Disclosures Requiring Authorization: For uses and disclosures beyond treatment, payment, and operations purposes, and for reasons not included in one of the exceptions described above, the Plan is required to have your written authorization. For example, uses and disclosures of psychotherapy notes, uses and disclosures of PHI for marketing purposes, and disclosures that constitute a sale of PHI would require your authorization. Your authorization can be revoked at any time to stop future uses and disclosures, except to the extent that the Plan has already undertaken an action in reliance upon your authorization.
- Uses and Disclosures Requiring You to Have an Opportunity to Object: The Plan may share PHI with your family, friend, or other person involved in your care, or payment for your care. We may also share PHI with these people to notify them about your location, general condition, or death. However, the Plan may disclose your PHI only if it informs you about the disclosure in advance and you do not object (but if there is an emergency situation and you cannot be given your opportunity to object, disclosure may be made if it is consistent with any prior expressed wishes and disclosure is determined to be in your best interests; you must be informed and given an opportunity to object to further disclosure as soon as you are able to do so).
Your Rights Regarding Your Protected Health Information
You have the following rights relating to your protected health information:
- To Request Restrictions on Uses and Disclosures: You have the right to ask that the Plan limit how it uses or
discloses your PHI. The Plan will consider your request, but is not legally bound to agree to the restriction. To the extent that it agrees to any restrictions on its use or disclosure of your PHI, it will put the agreement in writing and abide by it except in emergency situations. The Plan cannot agree to limit uses or disclosures that are required by law. - To Choose How the Plan Contacts You: You have the right to ask that the Plan send you information at an alternative address or by an alternative means. To request confidential communications, you must make your request in writing to the Privacy Official. We will not ask you the reason for your request. Your request must specify how or where you wish to be contacted. The Plan must agree to your request as long as it is reasonably easy for it to accommodate the request.
- To Inspect and Copy Your PHI: Unless your access is restricted for clear and documented treatment reasons,
you have a right to see your PHI in the possession of the Plan or its vendors if you put your request in writing. The Plan, or someone on behalf of the Plan, will respond to your request, normally within 30 days. If your request is denied, you will receive written reasons for the denial and an explanation of any right to have the denial reviewed. If you want copies of your PHI, a charge for copying may be imposed but may be waived, depending on your circumstances. You have a right to choose what portions of your information you want copied and to receive, upon request, prior information on the cost of copying. - To Request Amendment of Your PHI: If you believe that there is a mistake or missing information in a record of your PHI held by the Plan or one of its vendors you may request in writing that the record be corrected or supplemented. The Plan or someone on its behalf will respond, normally within 60 days of receiving your request. The Plan may deny the request if it is determined that the PHI is: (i) correct and complete; (ii) not created by the Plan or its vendor and/or not part of the Plan’s or vendor’s records; or (iii) not permitted to be disclosed. Any denial will state the reasons for denial and explain your rights to have the request and denial, along with any statement in response that you provide, appended to your PHI. If the request for amendment is approved, the Plan or vendor, as the case may be, will change the PHI and so inform you, and tell others that need to know about the change in the PHI.
- To Find Out What Disclosures Have Been Made: You have a right to get a list of when, to whom, for what purpose, and what portion of your PHI has been released by the Plan and its vendors, other than instances of disclosure for which you gave authorization, or instances where the disclosure was made to you or your family. In addition, the disclosure list will not include disclosures for treatment, payment, or health care operations. The list also will not include any disclosures made for national security purposes, to law enforcement officials or correctional facilities, or before the date the federal privacy rules applied to the Plan. You will normally receive a response to your written request for such a list within 60 days after you make the request in writing. Your request can relate to disclosures going as far back as six years. There will be no charge for up to one such list each year. There may be a charge for more frequent requests.
How to Complain About the Plan’s Privacy Practices
If you think the Plan or one of its vendors may have violated your privacy rights, or if you disagree with a decision made by the Plan or a vendor about access to your PHI, you may file a complaint with the person listed in the section immediately below. You also may file a written complaint with the Secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The law does not permit anyone to take retaliatory action against you if you make such complaints.
Notification of a Privacy Breach
Any individual whose unsecured PHI has been, or is reasonably believed to have been used, accessed, acquired or disclosed in an unauthorized manner will receive written notification from the Plan within 60 days of the discovery of the breach.
If the breach involves 500 or more residents of a state, the Plan will notify prominent media outlets in the state. The Plan will maintain a log of security breaches and will report this information to HHS on an annual basis. Immediate reporting from the Plan to HHS is required if a security breach involves 500 or more people.
Contact Person for Information, or to Submit a Complaint
If you have questions about this notice please contact the Plan’s Privacy Official or Deputy Privacy Official(s) (see below). If you have any complaints about the Plan’s privacy practices, handling of your PHI, or breach notification process, please contact the Privacy Official or an authorized Deputy Privacy Official.
Privacy Official
The Plan’s Privacy Official, the person responsible for ensuring compliance with this notice, is:
Joelle Fosco
Executive Director of Human Resources 480-366-2031
NOTICE OF SPECIAL ENROLLMENT RIGHTS
FRONTIER TECHNOLOGY, LLC DBA MICROAGE EMPLOYEE HEALTH CARE PLAN
If you are declining enrollment for yourself or your dependents (including your spouse) because of other health insurance or group health plan coverage, you may be able to later enroll yourself and your dependents in this plan if you or your dependents lose eligibility for that other coverage (or if the employer stops contributing toward your or your dependents’ other coverage).
Loss of eligibility includes but is not limited to:
- Loss of eligibility for coverage as a result of ceasing to meet the plan’s eligibility requirements (e.g., divorce, cessation of dependent status, death of an employee, termination of employment, reduction in the number of hours of employment);
- Loss of HMO coverage because the person no longer resides or works in the HMO service area and no other coverage option is available through the HMO plan sponsor;
- Elimination of the coverage option a person was enrolled in, and another option is not offered in its place;
- Failing to return from an FMLA leave of absence; and
- Loss of eligibility under Medicaid or the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP).
Unless the event giving rise to your special enrollment right is a loss of eligibility under Medicaid or CHIP, you must request enrollment within 30 days after your or your dependent’s(s’) other coverage ends (or after the employer that sponsors that coverage stops contributing toward the coverage).
If the event giving rise to your special enrollment right is a loss of coverage under Medicaid or CHIP, you may request enrollment under this plan within 60 days of the date you or your dependent(s) lose such coverage under Medicaid or CHIP. Similarly, if you or your dependent(s) become eligible for a state-granted premium subsidy toward this plan, you may request enrollment under this plan within 60 days after the date Medicaid or CHIP determine that you or the dependent(s) qualify for the subsidy.
In addition, if you have a new dependent as a result of marriage, birth, adoption, or placement for adoption, you may be able to enroll yourself and your dependents. However, you must request enrollment within 30 days after the marriage, birth, adoption, or placement for adoption.
To request special enrollment or obtain more information, contact:
Joelle Fosco
Executive Director of Human Resources 480-366-2031
* This notice is relevant for healthcare coverages subject to the HIPAA portability rules.
NOTICE OF RIGHT TO DESIGNATE PRIMARY CARE PROVIDER AND OF NO OBLIGATION FOR PRE-AUTHORIZATION FOR OB/GYN CARE
Frontier Technology, LLC dba MicroAge Employee Health Care Plan generally allows the designation of a primary care provider. You have the right to designate any primary care provider who participates in our network and who is available to accept you or your family members. For information on how to select a primary care provider, and for a list of the participating primary care providers, contact the plan administrator at 480-366- 2031.
For children, you may designate a pediatrician as the primary care provider.
You do not need prior authorization from Frontier Technology, LLC dba MicroAge Employee Health Care Plan or from any other person (including a primary care provider) in order to obtain access to obstetrical or gynecological care from a health care professional in our network who specializes in obstetrics or gynecology. The health care professional, however, may be required to comply with certain procedures, including obtaining prior authorization for certain services, following a pre-approved treatment plan, or procedures for making referrals. For a list of participating health care professionals who specialize in obstetrics or gynecology, contact the Frontier Technology, LLC dba MicroAge Employee Health Care Plan at:
Joelle Fosco
Executive Director of Human Resources
480-366-2031
WOMEN’S HEALTH AND CANCER RIGHTS NOTICE
Frontier Technology, LLC dba MicroAge Employee Health Care Plan is required by law to provide you with the following notice:
The Women’s Health and Cancer Rights Act of 1998 (“WHCRA”) provides certain protections for individuals receiving mastectomy-related benefits. Coverage will be provided in a manner determined in consultation with the attending physician and the patient for:
- All stages of reconstruction of the breast on which the mastectomy was performed;
- Surgery and reconstruction of the other breast to produce a symmetrical appearance;
- Prostheses; and
- Treatment of physical complications of the mastectomy, including lymphedema.
The Frontier Technology, LLC dba MicroAge Employee Health Care Plan provide(s) medical coverage for mastectomies and the related procedures listed above, subject to the same deductibles and coinsurance applicable to other medical and surgical benefits provided under this plan. Therefore, the following deductibles and coinsurance apply:
If you would like more information on WHCRA benefits, please refer to your Policy Booklet or contact your Plan Administrator at:
Joelle Fosco
Executive Director of Human Resources
480-366-2031