Advice and reference info from members. (Updated Apr  16, 2021.)

Other HPE contacts: hpalumni.org/contacts-HPE

This topic can be discussed in the HPAA Benefits Forum. Discuss U.S. HP/HPInc/HPE COBRA and retiree health benefits, including Annual Enrollment and transition to Medicare.

Questions or comments to: info@hpalumni.org 

Which HP-related companies am I a retiree or former employee of? (Not always obvious.) Given HP's complex history of acquisitions, divestitures, and spinoffs, the company or companies that you are legally a former employee of may not be obvious. If any doubt, check here: Which Company

(HPE retirees who are qualified for the "Pre-2003" retirement program -- which refers to the year when HP's U.S. retiree medical program was redesigned to be much less generous -- not the year retired -- are legally retirees of HPE. However, HPE has paid HPInc to administer health benefits for those HPE retirees. How to tell if you are qualified for Pre-2003: hpalumni.org/Pre2003)

Be sure to consider alternatives to company coverage -- as recommended in the Annual Enrollment Guide. Even if you qualify for company-subsidized health insurance, you may have low years-of-service. An experienced independent insurance agent licensed to sell health insurance in your state can help you sort through the complexity -- and adds nothing to the cost of any plan you purchase from them.

The Benefits Center is the "cosmic glue" for health benefits. The HPE Benefits Center is outsourced to Bswift, a company that administers health coverage for 15 million people.

HPE transmits employment status information for all current U.S. employees, most retirees, and those on COBRA to the Benefits Center. The Benefits Center handles the details from there on -- including mailings, billing, website, and phone center.

The Benefits Center transmits enrollment information to the carriers (such as UHC and Aetna), the pharmacy benefits companies, the regional HMOs (Kaiser, Tufts, Harvard Pilgrim) and administers the company subsidy provided to Aon Retiree Health Exchange. The Benefits Center has people experienced in resolving issues with the other companies.

If there is a problem, contact the Benefits Center.

Steps to follow

Step 1. Call the phone center for the specific carrier or provider. (UHC, UHC/AARP, Aetna, Anthem, Express Scripts, Medco, OptumRx, Kaiser, Harvard Pilgrim, Tufts, etc.) If the first-level phone agent can't help you, ask to escalate your problem. Use the magic word "escalate."

Step 2. If the provider has incorrect information about your eligibility or coverage -- or otherwise can't resolve your issue -- contact the appropriate phone center -- the HPE Benefits Center or the Aon Retiree Health Exchange -- as listed below.

The key: All that a provider knows about your specific coverage is in files that were transmitted to them by the Benefits Center or Aon.

Step 3. If the first-level Benefits Center or Aon phone agent can't resolve your issue, ask them to escalate your call. Use the magic word "escalate." We get very good reports from members who have escalated within the phone centers. The Benefits Centers and Aon each have a special group that deals with provider issues -- for example, they can set up a three-way phone conversation with an expert troubleshooter at the provider.

Step 4. While the HP Alumni Association is an independent volunteer organization and is not officially endorsed or supported by any company, we have informal escalation paths into HPE Corporate and Aon Retiree Health Exchange.  hpalumni.org/escalate 

Aon Retiree Health Exchange

ARHE is an insurance sales agency selected by the company to market company-subsidized individual, standard open-market Medicare plans to retirees (as opposed to the group plans administered through the Benefits Center.) See hpalumni.org/medicare-HP

If you elect to purchase an individual plan through ARHE, your benefits choice is indicated by the Benefits Center as "Aon Retiree Health Exchange $0.00." You pay directly for your coverage. At the start of the year, the company funds a Retiree Reimbursement Account administered by the Benefits Center. ARHE automatically submits claims to the Benefits Center, which reimburses you via monthly direct deposit until the Reimbursement Account is exhausted for the year.

However, if there are problems with the subsidy payments paid via your HPE Retiree Reimbursement Account, contact the HPE Benefits Center.

While the HP Alumni Association is an independent volunteer organization and is not officially endorsed or supported by any company, we have informal escalation paths into HPInc Corporate, HPE Corporate, and Aon Retiree Health Exchange.  hpalumni.org/escalate  

For more mutual help on this topic and many others, join the independent HP Alumni Association. If you were formerly a regular, direct employee of HP, HPInc, or HPE -- or are in the process of leaving -- join the HP Alumni Association. No charge, thanks to HPAA members.

As financial, legal, and personal advice must be tailored to the specific circumstances of each case, and finances and laws are constantly changing, nothing provided here should be used as a substitute for the personalized advice of competent financial, legal, and personal advisors.

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