My Spouse is Turning 65

Health & Dental Coverage

If you are still employed by the university, and your spouse is turning 65, they are eligible to remain on your university health and dental plans, and it will remain as their primary coverage.

By turning 65 your spouse is now eligible to sign up for Medicare Part A. Medicare Part A covers hospital care, skilled nursing facility care, nursing home care, hospice, and home health services. Medicare Part A is at no cost to you.

To enroll in Medicare you can contact the Social Security Office. There is a seven month window around your 65th birthday in which you are eligible to enroll. Once you are enrolled, please call the number on the back of your Wellmark ID to report your Medicare Part A number.

If your spouse chooses to enroll in Medicare part B as their primary insurance and you wish to remove them from your coverage, you have 30 days from the date your spouse turns 65 or 30 days from the date your spouse's Medicare coverage begins, whichever is earlier, to remove them from your plan. You must provide the documentation showing their Medicare effective date. If you have missed this time frame, you may make changes to your plan during Open Enrollment.

Your spouse turning 65 allows you to make any necessary changes to your benefits, such as removing your spouse or changing health plans if needed. Please utilize UNI Works to make any changes.

For questions regarding Medicare eligibility and how it works, please contact:

Waterloo Social Security Office

3121 Greyhound Drive
Waterloo, IA 50701
Phone: (888) 456-9554
Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday 9:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m.
Wednesday 9:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.

Senior Health Insurance Information Program (SHIIP)

Phone: (800) 351-4664
Web: https://shiip.iowa.gov/
SHIIP services outside of Iowa: https://www.shiptacenter.org/

Medicare

Phone: (800) 633-4227
Web: https://www.medicare.gov/

Wellmark Medicare Resources

Learn the basics about Medicare, starting with eligibility at the Wellmark Medicare Basics webpage.

Effective July 1, 2024, due to a recent audit, all employees having a qualified life event and making any changes to their family health and/or dental coverage must verify all dependent relationships by providing corresponding legal documentation.

Examples of documentation:

1. Spouse - marriage certificate, common law spouse affidavit
2. Domestic Partner - notarized domestic partner affidavit
3. Child - birth certificate which includes parents names, court order, or guardianship paperwork

Since this impacts all life events, including open enrollment, we are notifying employees now so documentation can be easily provided when required. At the time of your life event, you can securely upload to UNI Works or bring into the Human Resource Office at Gilchrist 025. All documentation needs to be viewed by HRS staff, but no documentation will be retained after the initial review (i.e., if provided electronically, it will be purged). Do not send any personal documents through email as this is not secure.

Annual Open Enrollment

If you do not make any changes during open enrollment your coverage selection will remain the same.

Qualifying Life Event

You may also enroll, waive, or change your coverage selection based on a qualifying life event.

UNI Works

UNI Works is designed to help you enroll, make changes, and view your current benefit elections, dependents and beneficiaries all in one location. When logging into UNI Works, select Benefits and Pay from the Main Menu.