With the continual rise in health care costs, our goal is to keep providing to our associates medical plans with comprehensive coverage at affordable rates.  Since working spouses/domestic partners may enroll in their own employer’s health plans, they don’t require coverage under the CHOC medical plans.  If they are enrolled in our plans, however, their enrollment does increase the cost of our plans, sometimes on a significant basis.  The Working Spouse Surcharge is intended to help manage this impact to the overall cost of providing our comprehensive medical plans to our associates.

Spouses or domestic partners may be covered by one of the CHOC medical plans, but a working spouse surcharge of $50 per paycheck will be added to your premium contributions for medical coverage.

The surcharge does not apply if you do not enroll your spouse/domestic partner in a CHOC medical plan or if:

• Your spouse/domestic partner is not employed
• Your spouse/domestic partner is not eligible for medical coverage through his/her employer
• Your spouse/domestic partner is enrolled in Medicare/Medicaid
• You and your spouse/domestic partner both work at CHOC

The Working Spouse Surcharge only applies to enrollment in the medical plans.  It does not apply to dental and vision plans. Therefore, you may enroll your spouse/domestic partner even if he/she is offered other dental and vision coverage through their employer’s benefits program.