New Employee Enrollment
New employees or newly eligible employees complete their State Plan benefits enrollment online at benefits.mt.gov.
- Enrollment must be completed within 31 days of your date of hire.
- Your benefits will be effective retroactive to the date you became eligible.
- If you do not complete your benefit enrollment within 31 days of your date of hire, you will not be enrolled in the State Plan and ALL of your benefit options will be waived.
If you have any questions, contact HCBD at (800) 287-8266, (406) 444-7462, TTY (406) 444-1421, or benefitsquestions@mt.gov.
Initial Enrollment Period - Enroll within 31 days of your date of hire in order to take full advantage of all State Plan benefits available to you. Your coverage is effective on your date of hire. Flexible spending accounts become effective on the first day of the month following your hire date.
Joint Core - If you and your spouse both work for the State (as an Employee or Legislator) and have at least one dependent child who needs to be enrolled on the State Plan, you can elect to be Joint Core. Your family shares one family Maximum Out-of-Pocket and your bi-weekly contribution is less.
Late Enrollment - If you waive coverage, or do not enroll within 31 days of your date of hire, you may be able to join the State Plan at a later date, but you will only be eligible for State Plan benefits for yourself. You will not be able to add a spouse/domestic partner or dependent child(ren) to the plan or elect optional benefits without a Special Enrollment Period. If you enroll after the first 31 days of your date of hire, the effective date of coverage will be the 1st of the month following receipt of your request for enrollment.
Employee Resources
- Prescription Drug Plan
- Basic Vision ($10 copay for an eye exam per member at an in-network provider)
- Basic Life Insurance ($14,000 of coverage)
- Montana Health Centers
- Locations in Anaconda, Billings, Butte, Helena, and Missoula. The clinics offer the same kinds of services found at a regular doctor’s office at no-cost to eligible plan members and a much lower cost to the self-funded State Plan.
- Virtual Telehealth offers no-cost virtual access to a board certified physician 24 hours a day/7 days a week.
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Medical coverage for spouse/domestic partner and/or child(ren)*
- Dental Coverage
- Vision Hardware Coverage
- Additional life insurance for you and/or your spouse/domestic partner or child(ren)
- Long Term Disability (LTD) coverage
- Accidental Death & Dismemberment (AD&D) coverage
- Flexible Spending Accounts (FSAs) for Medical and/or Dependent Care
*Proof of Dependent Eligibility - If you want to add your spouse/domestic partner or child(ren) to the State Plan, you must provide proof of eligibility.
Employer Contribution - The State contributes $1,054/month per eligible employee to the State of Montana Benefit Plan.
Paying for Coverage - The State of Montana employer contribution may not cover all of your benefit costs. Any extra cost is automatically deducted from your bi-weekly paycheck. You start owing your benefit contribution the day your coverage begins. If you submit your benefit elections within 31 days of your date of hire, but after your first pay period, you will see two pay periods worth of contributions come out of your second paycheck. After that, the contributions will be distributed evenly.
Tax Information - Most of your benefit contribution will be deducted pre-tax out of your paycheck with the exception of the following:- Life Insurance coverage for yourself and your dependents
- Long Term Disability insurance coverage, and
- Non-tax dependent coverage (i.e. domestic partner)
Benefit Identification Cards - You will receive medical, dental, vision, and prescription drug plan identification cards within two to three weeks of completing your enrollment.
Open Enrollment - You will have the opportunity to make changes to your State Plan options during the annual two-week Open Enrollment Period that takes place each fall. These changes take effect January 1 of the following Plan Year. Be sure to read all mail and email communications from HCBD for details about Open Enrollment.