Ongoing eligibility
For each plan year (January 1 through December 31) there will be a 12-month standard measurement period before the year begins. The standard measurement period for each plan year will end on October 3 immediately preceding the first day of the plan year. For example, for the 2024 plan year, the standard measurement period began on October 4, 2022 and ended on October 3, 2023.
If you are a regular part-time employee working at least 20 hours per week or a regular full-time employee working at least 40 hours per week, you will remain eligible for benefits as described in the Eligibility section of the SPD, except as described below if your scheduled hours are reduced during the stability period.
If you are a regular employee working less than 20 hours and are credited with at least 30 hours per week during the standard measurement period, you will be eligible for the UHC Basic HSA Plan (with no Stryker HSA contribution) for the next plan year and your cost will be based on part-time rates.
If you are a direct temporary employee, variable hours employee, or seasonal employee and you are credited with an average of at least 30 hours per week during the standard measurement period, you will be eligible for the UHC Basic HSA Plan (with no Stryker HSA contribution) for the immediately following plan year, and your cost will be based upon part-time rates unless you are regularly scheduled to work 40 hours per week. If you satisfy the minimum hour requirement during the standard measurement period, you will be notified after the measurement period ends and will be provided with the opportunity to enroll in coverage for the immediately following plan year.
If you transfer to a position or change working hours that causes you to become eligible for additional plan benefits or qualifies you for a lower medical cost, you will be offered the additional coverage and the more favorable cost immediately upon your status change. Conversely, if you transfer to a position or change working hours that would ordinarily no longer qualify you for certain benefits, you will continue to be eligible for the UHC Basic HSA Plan (with no Stryker HSA contribution) for the balance of the stability period if you are credited with at least 30 hours per week during the standard measurement period. However, your employee cost will adjust to the part-time rate if you drop below 40 hours.
If you have a break in service (for example, due to termination of employment or the taking of a non-FMLA leave) during which you are not credited with any hours of service for at least 13 weeks, you will be treated as a new hire upon resumption of service. If the break in service is less than 13 weeks and you were enrolled in coverage and return during the same stability period or plan year, the coverage will be offered as soon as administratively practicable upon resumption of service. Further, you will be treated as a continuing employee upon resumption of service for purposes of any applicable measurement period.
Eligible dependents include:
Your eligible dependents are:
- Your spouse
- Your domestic partner. Note: registered domestic partnerships are not subject to any requirements for proof of relationship or waiting periods applied to domestic partnerships that are not also applied to marriages. For purposes of Stryker's benefit plans, a domestic partnership is defined as:
OR
- A domestic partnership that meets all of the following requirements for the immediately preceding 12 months:
- Is at least age 18 and mentally competent to enter into a legal contract when the domestic partnership began.
- Is your sole domestic partner in a committed relationship and intends to remain so indefinitely.
- Has not had another domestic partner within the prior 12 months.
- Has not been a party to a divorce or annulment proceeding in at least 12 months.
- Is not related to you in a way that would prohibit a legal marriage.
- Is not legally married to anyone else, and any prior marriages have been dissolved through death, divorce or nullity.
- Shares a household with you that is the primary residence of both of you (although you may live apart for reasons of education, healthcare, work, or military service).
- Shares joint responsibility with you for each other's basic living expenses incurred during the domestic partnership.
- Your, your spouse's or domestic partner's married or unmarried child up to age 26; and,
The child may be the employee's (or spouse's or domestic partner's) natural child; stepchild; legally adopted child; child placed for adoption; or eligible foster child. An eligible foster child is a child that is placed with you by an authorized placement agency or by court order.
You may cover your grandchild only if you are eligible to claim your grandchild as a dependent on your federal income tax return.
"Child" also includes a child who is required to be covered under the Stryker Corporation Welfare Benefits Plan by a qualified medical child support order (QMCSO) or National Medical Support Notice (NMSN). See Your Rights and Responsibilities in this Stryker benefits summary for more information regarding QMCSOs and NMSNs.
If both you and your spouse, domestic partner, or dependent work for Stryker, you may not be covered under the plan both as an employee and a dependent nor may you be covered under any other Stryker-sponsored plan if you are enrolled in this plan. Any eligible children of two Stryker employees may be covered as dependents by only one parent.
Note: The dependent eligibility requirements and age limitations discussed here apply only to the Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Alabama PPO option. Other options may have other requirements. Please see "Dependents" in the Participating in healthcare benefits section for those requirements.
If you enroll when you are first eligible, your coverage under the plan begins on your date of hire. If you are hired as a result of an acquisition, coverage will begin on the first day you become eligible for Stryker benefits.
A newly eligible child, spouse or domestic partner will be covered immediately if you contact your Benefits representative and complete necessary paperwork to enroll him or her within 30 days of the birth, marriage, domestic partnership or date the child joined the family.
Coverage for you and your dependents under the Stryker Corporation Welfare Benefits Plan ends on the date the following events occur:
- The date you leave Stryker or fail to pay required coverage contributions
- The date you are no longer an eligible employee
- The date you drop coverage due to a qualifying life event
- If you elect to drop healthcare benefits during annual enrollment, on the December 31 following the annual enrollment period
Dependent coverage ends:
- On the date your coverage ends
- On the last day of the calendar month in which your dependent child reaches the plan's limit (age 26) or otherwise ceases to be a dependent
- In the case of a spouse or domestic partner, the date of divorce or termination of domestic partnership
If coverage under the plan ends, you or your dependents may be able to choose COBRA continuation coverage. For more information, see "COBRA: continuing healthcare coverage" in the Participating in healthcare benefits section of this Stryker benefits summary.
COBRA continuation coverage can become available to you, your spouse, domestic partner and dependent children who are covered under the Stryker Corporation Welfare Benefits Plan when coverage might otherwise be lost. For more information, see "COBRA: continuing healthcare coverage" in the Participating in healthcare benefits section of this Stryker benefits summary.
For specific information about the medical benefits offered under the Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Alabama PPO option, refer to the Certificate for Group Health Benefits document, available at https://totalrewards.stryker.com/spd/2024-bcbsal-plan-benefit-booklet.pdf.
The Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Alabama PPO option provides benefits for covered prescription drugs, including contraceptives, insulin and diabetic supplies. Specific information is set out in the "Health Benefits" section of the Certificate for Group Health Benefits document, available at https://totalrewards.stryker.com/spd/2024-bcbsal-plan-benefit-booklet.pdf.
Information about filing claims for benefits is set out in the "Claims and Appeals" section of the Certificate for Group Health Benefits document, available at https://totalrewards.stryker.com/spd/2024-bcbsal-plan-benefit-booklet.pdf. Blue Cross Blue Shield of Alabama is the fiduciary for purposes of deciding claims for benefits under this healthcare option.