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Health Insurances & Benefit Information

Valley Collaborative is delighted to offer excellent benefit packages for eligible employees through the  Group Insurance Commission (GIC).

All GIC members should actively shop and evaluate health coverage options by carefully reviewing the 2026 - 2027 GIC Benefits Guide to better understand any changes and make informed decisions about their coverage. 

The GIC is requiring members to use the MyGICLink Member Benefits Portal to review current benefit elections, enroll in and/or update benefits during Annual Enrollment. All benefit eligible employees have from April 1 until May 1, 2026 to finalize benefit elections that will begin July 1, 2026 and extend through June 30, 2027. 

Note: If members do not want to make changes to their current health and dental/vision plans during, Annual Enrollment, no further action is needed to remain in the current plan. As a reminder, if you are currently enrolled in a Flexible Spending Account benefit, you must re-enroll if you wish to participate in a health care or dependent care Flexible Spending Account during the 2026 - 2027 year.

All plans will become effective July 1, 2026, with deductions beginning in June.

MyGICLink Benefits Portal

The Group Insurance Commission (GIC)’s  MyGICLink Benefits Portal allows eligible employees the ability to review and make changes to current elections, submit documentation for any changes, and/or track the status of changes.

  1. MyGICLink Benefits Portal Registration: please click on this hyperlink if you have not already registered for an account with the GIC.
  2. MyGICLink Benefits Portal Login: please click on this hyperlink if you have already created and/or registered for an account.  
     

Health Insurance: you may enroll in GIC health benefits and/or change your health benefit election at this time. For 2026 - 2027, the following health plan offerings are available to benefit eligible employees:

Dental/Vision Insurance: the GIC Dental/Vision benefits are provided by Altus Dental/Vision. you may enroll in GIC dental/vision benefits and/or change your dental product election. The plan rates for dental/vision coverage include both dental AND vision coverage.

Life Insurance: Basic Life, Optional Life, and Accidental Death and Dismemberment (AD&D) -  basic and optional life insurances and AD&D insurance help provide for your beneficiary’s well-being in the event of a serious accident or death. This benefit is paid to your designated beneficiary(ies).

Long Term Disability: MetLife - all eligible employees can apply for LTD coverage during Annual Enrollment, or at any time during the year. You must provide proof of good health for MetLife’s approval to enter the plan. LTD coverage can be canceled throughout the year. Enrollment and cancellation effective dates are determined by the GIC. Upon receipt of your completed form, the GIC will notify MetLife of your application and MetLife will send you a medical form to complete and return. If approved by MetLife, the GIC will notify you of your effective date.

Mass4YOU: Optum Live and Work Well -:Mass4YOU is a free Employee Assistance Program available to all state and municipal employees and their families who are eligible for GIC benefits administered through Optum health. GIC health insurance coverage is not required to access the many Mass4YOU work/life and other support services. Members can call (844)263-1982 or visit the hyperlink above. To access this benefit, please use Valley’s access code =mass4you. Through Mass4YOU, GIC benefits-eligible employees and their families can find easy access to a comprehensive suite of free, confidential support available 24/7, including:

• Eight free coaching sessions and three in-person virtual, telephone, or in-person therapy visits per issue, per year

• 30-minute telephone or in-person legal or mediation consultation per issue per year

• Guidance from a financial coach to help with debt, foreclosure, financial planning, and more

• Referrals for a variety of Work-Life convenience services: child care, elder care and more

• Access to Mass4YOU’s 24/7 confidential substance abuse treatment helpline and a licensed clinician

No formal enrollment is required. Stay up-to-date on all Mass4YOU benefits by visiting supportfinder.optum.com/mass4you .

 

Flexible Spending Accounts (FSA): There is a new Flexible Spending Account administrator, Ameriflex. Ameriflex will also administer the current plan year (July 1, 2025  - June 30, 2026) grace period (through September 15, 2026) and any claims filed after July 1, 2026. 

There are two types of FSA plans available to eligible GIC members, a Health Care Spending Account (HCSA), which is used to pay for medical expenses for you and your eligible dependents; and a Dependent Care Assistance Program (DCAP), which can be used to pay for childcare or assistance with disabled adult dependents. Both of these plans lower your income tax liability by the amount of your deductions. 

In exchange for the tax savings that these programs offer, the IRS imposes a use-it-or-lose-it rule. This means that you must use all the money in your account by the end of the plan year, or you lose that money, subject to the grace period. 

FSA Eligibility & Enrollment

Active state employees who are eligible for GIC benefits may enroll in a Flexible Spending Account and/or Dependent Care FSA Account for the upcoming plan year (July 1, 2026 - June 30, 2027) during Annual Enrollment. Even if you are enrolled in one or both FSAs this year, you must re-enroll if you wish to participate in Fiscal Year 2027 (July 1, 2026 - June 30, 2027). Valley will continue to pay the monthly administrative fee ($1.00/month) for any employee who enrolls in one or both FSAs.  

To enroll for the first time, or to re-enroll in a Flexible Spending Account(s), please go to the Ameriflex website or view the Member Enrollment Form Tutorial.

The GIC’s FSA plans have a 2.5 month grace period, with an additional month allowed for claim submissions. This means that you will have until September 15, 2026 to incur claims (based on date of service) for a plan year that ended on June 30, 2026. You will then have until October 15, 2026 to submit those claims for reimbursement. During the grace period from a previous year, if there is also an election for the current year, any available funds from the previous year will be used first to pay for qualifying claims on both FSA plans. Members may still add, change, or stop participation in either or both FSA plans in response to a qualifying life event, such as marriage, divorce, birth of a child, change in employment, or (DCA only) change in childcare provider. You can enroll in a Healthcare FSA for as little as $250 or as much as $3,400/year. You can enroll in a Dependent Care FSA for as little as $250 and as much as $7500/year (or $3,750 if married and filing separate tax returns.)
 

Prescription Drug Benefits: CVS Caremark is the GIC’s prescription drug benefit administrator for non-Medicare health insurance plans. Use your CVS Caremark ID card when filling prescriptions. You pay an annual prescription drug deductible of $100/individual and $200/family, separate from your health plan deductible. Once you have paid your prescription

drug deductible, your covered prescriptions are subject to a copay.

All GIC health plans feature a three-tier copay structure. Contact CVS Caremark with questions about your specific medications.

• Tier 1: You pay the lowest copay. Most generic prescription drugs fall into this tier.

• Tier 2: You pay the mid-level copay. Many brand name prescription drugs fall into this tier.

• Tier 3: You pay the highest copay. This tier includes brand-name and generic prescription drugs that don’t fall into Tiers 1 or 2.

If you or a family member is taking a long-term medication—such as high cholesterol or high blood pressure medicine—you will receive a communication from CVS Caremark asking you how you wish to receive your future refills—by mail or at your local CVS pharmacy. For these maintenance medications, you must fill a 90-day supply at either a CVS Retail Pharmacy, or you may utilize CVS Caremark Mail Service Pharmacy, and you will pay one mail order copay. All acute 30-day retail medications, or any nonmaintenance medications—such as antibiotics or painkillers—can be filled at any in-network Retail Pharmacy for one 30-day retail copay.

Health Insurance Buy-out

To be eligible for the Health Insurance Buy-Out, you must have other non-GIC health insurance coverage through another employer-sponsored plan that meets Internal Revenue Service “minimum value” criteria and must maintain GIC basic life insurance.
 

Under the GIC Health Insurance Buy-out Plan, eligible state employees and retirees receive 25% of the full-cost monthly premium in lieu of health insurance benefits for one 12-month period of time. Employees in HR/CMS and UMASS agencies will receive the remittance monthly in their paychecks; employees of housing and other authorities will receive a monthly check. The amount of payment depends on your health plan and coverage.
 

There are two buy-out periods, and your reimbursement will be determined based on the GIC plan you are enrolled in at the end of the covered period.

  • During Annual Enrollment: If you were insured with the GIC on January 1, 2026 or before, and continue your coverage through June 30, 2026, you may apply to buy out your health plan coverage effective July 1, 2026. The deadline for submission is May 1, 2026 for the July 1, 2026 buy-out.
  • October 5 - October 30, 2026: If you are insured with the GIC on July 1, 2026 or before, and continue your coverage through December 31, 2026, you may apply to buy out your health plan coverage effective January 1, 2027. The deadline for submission is October 30, 2026 for the January 1, 2027 buy-out.

Note: Applications received after the enrollment deadline will not be accepted. Visit the GIC website for more information and enrollment details.
 

Short Term Disability Insurance (Non-GIC Benefit)

In addition to GIC benefits, Valley also offers Short Term Disability insurance through The Hartford Insurance Company. This benefit is 100% employee paid. If you are electing this benefit for the first time, your payroll deduction will start upon approval from The Hartford Insurance Company. The following documents are hyperlinked below and can also be found in the Forms folder under the Human Resources tab from Valley Collaborative’s website:

  1. The Hartford Short Term Disability Benefit Highlights - please review as an overview of benefit details 
  2. Short Term Disability Enrollment Form and Evidence of Insurability –
    • If you are electing this benefit for the first time, complete this form and select: “Elect Coverage”
    • Note:  You must also complete the Evidence of Insurability, either MA or NH, based on residency (pages 2 thru 5).
    • If you are canceling coverage this year, complete form and select:  “Decline Coverage”
    • If you currently have this benefit and wish to continue coverage for the 2024 - 2025 school year, you do not need to complete any paperwork at this time.
    • Please note: if you have changed into a new age band, your premiums will be increasing or decreasing based on the formula noted on the STD Enrollment Form.
  1. Premium Worksheet - if electing this benefit, please use this worksheet to complete the Enrollment Form

Please complete the forms and email them to: hr@valleycollaborative.org.