1. Why aren't payments automatically deducted from my bank each month after I submitted the Electronic Transfer for Initial Payment form to set up automatic payments?

Ensure the following were selected on the Electronic Transfer for Initial Payment form.

• Under Initial Pay: Save account information for future reference
  
• Under Recurring Payment: Future autopay/recurring payment

The Online Account Services User ID Request Form must also be submitted. Your group administrator will be able to set up and check on auto payments through account.kp.org.

If payments are still not being processed after checking account.kp.org, please contact the California Service Center at 800-790-4661, option 7, Mon-Fri, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.

2. How can I pay my bill and view my statements online?

Log on to account.kp.org to pay your bill and view up to two years of past statements in PDF format. Learn more about easily managing your account, and review these important tips for keeping your account current.

3. How do I change the contract signer, billing contact, or billing address?

1. Log in to your account at account.kp.org
2. Contact your broker, or
3. Call the Small Business Account Management Support Team at 800-790-4661, option 3.

4. Why aren't my recent account changes reflected in my statement?

Please allow up to 2 billing cycles for changes to appear on statements. If you already received a bill that does not reflect your changes, don't worry — pay it as is. Adjustments for your changes and payments will appear in the Retroactive Dues and Charges section on your next statement.

5. How do I submit changes to member status?

You may now quickly submit employee and dependent changes by logging on to account.kp.org through Manager Members or use our electronic signature forms. Please note that if your form is incorrectly completed online, you will not be able to select submit. For questions on how to complete the form, contact the California Service Center at 800-790-4661, option 7, Mon-Fri, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Visit the small group forms and documents to access the following e-signature forms.

• Contact Change Request
• Customer Address or Name Change Request
• Employee/Dependent Change
• Employee Enrollment
• Plan Add/Change Request
• Subscriber Termination, Transfer and Reinstatement

6. Who can I call for additional billing and enrollment questions?

Contact the California Service Center at 800-790-4661, option 7, Mon-Fri, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. for billing and enrollment inquiries such as:

• Copies of bills/Invoices
• Nonpayment arrangements
• Invoices questions
• Reinstatement
• Schedule A-5500 form/report request
• Initiate EDI/834 File Feeds (kp834@kp.org)

To ensure your request is processed efficiently, follow these guidelines when emailing a request to our California Service Center¹.

1. Include a clear subject line

The subject line should include your:

• Company name
• Purchaser identification (PID) number (confirm group ID)
  
• Request

Subject line example:

ABC company-123456-subscriber termination request

2. Use recommended attachment formats

Use these file formats for attachments: .doc, .docx, .xls, .xlsx, .pdf, .bmp, .txt, .tif, .tiff, .jpg, .jpeg.

Don’t use: .gif, .mpg, .rar, .avi, .wmv.

Attachments that are password protected cannot be processed. They will be routed for manual processing and may cause delays.

3. Don’t include important information in body of email

Only the attachments included in your emails will be processed. Any requests made in the body of an email won't be processed.

4. Email the right team

Remember to submit enrollment applications, account change forms, and member terminations² to our California Service Center.
 

¹ The California Service Center’s email box is unmonitored. It cannot reply to questions and can only accept forms. If you would like to include specific instructions or notes with the application, be sure to include them as an attachment and not in the body of the email.

² Terminations must be received in the month of the subscriber or group termination.

Your Broker of Record (BOR) is authorized to represent your decisions on health plan coverage and has the same online membership capabilities as you do for enrolling and maintaining membership. Your BOR may receive copies of the communications we send to you, including quotes, notifications, and policy information. From time to time, the contract signer or Authorized Representative may wish to add, change, or remove a BOR. Visit the Broker of Record Information page for more information.

Under the federal Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act (COBRA), employees and their families can continue to get group health coverage after the employee no longer works for the company. Your employees and their families may qualify for COBRA coverage in these situations:

• Voluntary or involuntary job loss
• Reduction in hours worked
• Divorce from the covered employee
• Death of the covered employee

For more information on COBRA, please see the COBRA regulations section of the Government guidelines page.

1. How do I know who's enrolled in COBRA?

Groups with active direct-billed COBRA or Cal-COBRA members will receive a COBRA Activity Report from Kaiser Permanente listing current COBRA members for that month.

The report also lists former employees who:

• Have missed COBRA payments
• Are being terminated from COBRA, either for nonpayment or because they've reached the maximum period of COBRA continuation coverage

2. Who receives the COBRA activity report?

The person at your company who's been specified as the contract signer will automatically receive the report.

3. What if I want someone other than the contract signer to receive the report?

To have the activity report sent to someone else at your company, please contact our Account Management Support Team at 800-790-4661, option 3.

4. Who can answer questions about the COBRA activity report?

Contact our California Service Center at 800-790-4661, option 1.

1. When should I submit an Employee Enrollment form?

You only need to submit an Employee Enrollment form when adding an employee as a new Kaiser Permanente member. Send the completed form via email to the California Service Center at csc-sd-sba@kp.org.

To avoid processing delays, remind your employees to print and sign their names in the signature field below the Kaiser Foundation Health Plan, Inc., Arbitration Agreement section of the Employee Enrollment Form.

2. Do I need to submit an Employee Enrollment form to add an employee’s new dependent?

No. You only need to submit an Employee/Dependent Change form to add the new dependent.

For changes of status (like adding new dependents), submit an Employee/Dependent Change form by electronic signature. Completed documents will route directly for processing.

3. Do I need to submit a new Employee Enrollment form for my employees enrolled as Kaiser Permanente members this year?

No. If your employees are currently Kaiser Permanente members, you don't need to submit any paperwork unless they make changes to their plans.

If you have other questions not covered here, please call 800-790-4661, option 1.

1. When should I submit changes to my renewal?

• To ensure all updates are in place for you and your employees by your effective date, make sure changes are submitted by the 1^st of your renewal effective month.
  
• Health plan changes received by 5 p.m. Pacific time (PT) on the 15^th of the month will be applied retroactively to the 1^st of their renewal month. Changes received after 5 p.m. PT on the 15^th of the month will be effective the 1^st of the following month.

2. How do I submit changes to my renewal?

• Login to account.kp.org for access to your upcoming renewal to get a renewal quote, make renewal plan changes or account updates, handle employee changes, and generate on-demand census reports with group-specific rates and plan descriptions, and more.
  
• Submit renewal changes by form via email but first double-check your paperwork. You must complete, sign and send the renewal change form as provided in the renewal packet via email to amt@kp.org.
  
  • If you make changes to section 1 and/or section 2, you must include section 9 (Census).
  • You must verify each current and new employee's health plan changes or additions by reviewing all their paperwork, including section 9 of the Renewal Changes form.
  • If you aren't making any changes, you do not need to submit the Renewal Changes form.

You'll receive an email health plan change acknowledgment letter when the request is approved.

Please note: If you leave a grandfathered (nonmetal) health plan, you won’t be able to go back to it.

Avoid processing delays by ensuring you understand your multiple plan options and how to submit plan changes online or manually by form.

The basic rules of offering multiple plans
Depending on how many subscribers you have, you may offer a different number of Kaiser Permanente plans to your employees.

• Groups with 1 to 5 enrolled subscribers can offer up to 4 HMO Kaiser Permanente plans, plus 1 PPO plan for a maximum of 5.
• Groups with 6 or more enrolled subscribers can offer 1 or more HMO Kaiser Permanente plans, plus 2 PPO plans.

If you have fewer than five subscribers and select five or more plans, you'll get a letter asking you to add another subscriber or reduce the number of plan selections — which will cause processing delays.

How do I submit plan changes?
There are two ways to submit plan changes.

1. Log on to account.kp.org to make annual renewal changes directly online.

2. Submit an e-signature Plan/Add Change Request form for midyear plan changes.

What tips do you have to ensure my plan changes are processed quickly?

• Submit all your plan changes at the same time. Any missing information or subsequent changes will result in processing delays.
• List the plan(s) you want to add or cancel. Complete section 2 of the Renewal Changes form or section 3 of the Plan/Add Change Request form. List any plan changes or additions for every current and new employee. This is covered in section 9 of the Renewal Changes form and section 4 of the Plan Add/Change Request form.
• Double-check that the plan names listed in these sections are currently available.
   

Will my employees' rates change if they have a birthday before it's time for the next renewal?

Rates for subscribers and dependents are calculated based on their age at the start date of the last contract period (the renewal date). This means an employee's rates won't change if they have a birthday before it's time for the next renewal. This applies to subscribers and dependents enrolled from the contract start date and those added to the contract period midyear.
 

If you have locations in Northern and Southern California, and the non-headquarters region has at least 13 Kaiser Permanente subscribers, you may need to separate your contract. This will give each location its own contract and customer identification number (CID).

• Your group only needs to separate contracts at your renewal — not midyear.
• If you offer Kaiser Permanente Insurance Company (KPIC) plans (PPO), you need to submit a New Group Application. A Small Business Customer Service Connection Team representative will reach out to help you with the process.
• If your group doesn’t offer a PPO plan, you don’t need to do anything. Kaiser Permanente will separate and renew the group for you. Any members affected by the separation will get a new ID card.

What if my group uses Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) to send files?

After separating your group, you must update your EDI file with the employees from each region. We recommend making updates by the end of your renewal month.

What if my group uses online account services?

The group with the original contract will need to add the new location on online account services by filling out our Online Account Services User ID Request Form. Be sure to include the CID of the group with the original contract and the new CID of the other region. After making the updates, you’ll be able to access both regions from one account.  

How many bills will I get?

You may receive a bill for each contract. Billing may take 1 to 2 months to catch up after the separation. Until that happens, you may see a credit or retro charges on your bills. We recommend you pay as billed.

If I offer one or more grandfathered plans, will the risk adjustment factor stay the same after the separation?

Yes, the grandfathered risk adjustment factor stays the same for both groups if you offer one or more grandfathered plans.

Do my employees’ deductible and out-of-pocket accumulations follow them if they’re moving to the new location?

Yes. After the member is transferred, we’ll transfer all deductible and out-of-pocket accumulations. This process can take 30 days or more to complete after the group’s renewal date.

Why are my employees receiving a Certificate of Creditable Coverage letter?

We are required to send this letter when any member is terminated from a group. Affected members who are terminated from the contract for the headquartered location will receive a Certificate of Creditable Coverage letter. Members affected by the separation can disregard the letter because they were immediately enrolled in the new group located in the opposite region.

How long does it take to separate a group?

It takes about 4 weeks, not including the time it takes to transfer any deductible or out-of-pocket accumulations.

What if I have more questions?

Please contact our Small Business Services Customer Connection Team at 800-790-4661, option 3.

Our policy on subscriber terminations states that all subscriber terminations will be effective in the month that we receive the termination request, unless you request that the termination be effective in a future month.

We will not retroactively terminate subscribers prior to the month we receive the request to terminate. For example, if you want the subscriber's coverage to be terminated beginning August 1, we must receive the request to terminate no later than August 31. A termination request received in August cannot be made effective retroactively back to July 1 or June 1.

You can still retroactively add new members to coverage up to two months before the first day of the month you notify us. For example, you could retroactively add a member as early as August 1, if we receive your notification by September 30.
 

Subscriber Termination Policy Q&A

If you have any additional questions, please call our Small Business Services California Service Center at 800-790-4661, option 1.

How do I terminate my contract with Kaiser Permanente?

Call our Account Management Support Team at 800-790-4661, option 3, Monday through Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Pacific time.

1. Request a Group Termination Request form. The Account Management Support Team will help you complete the form over the phone, then email it to you so your authorized contract signer can sign it with a wet signature. Termination requests on your company's letterhead aren't accepted.
   
   
2. Please email the signed Group Termination Request form to amt@kp.org or fax it to 800-369-8010.
   
   

Who’s responsible for stopping autopay?

If your group pays its premium through autopay, it’s your responsibility to stop autopay once all premium owed has been paid. If you have questions on how to stop autopay, please call our California Service Center at 800-790-4661, option 1.

Can I request reinstatement of my contract later?

Yes, you can request reinstatement of your contract within 60 days of your termination date without lapse in coverage and without needing to go back through the underwriting process.

Can I use a Declination of Coverage form to request termination of my contract?

No. The Declination of Coverage form is for employees who want to decline group health coverage with Kaiser Permanente. The declination of coverage form is not a form to be submitted to Kaiser Permanente. It’s only for your records to show which employees declined coverage.

Your employees will get new ID cards when they:

• Become new Kaiser Permanente members
• Switch to a plan that uses another type of card (for example, from small business coverage to Medicare coverage)
• Have a gap in coverage that’s 396 days or more
• Lose their card and ask for a replacement through Member Services*

Your employees won’t get new ID cards when they:

• Switch to a plan that uses the same type of card (for example, from an HMO plan to a deductible HMO plan)
• Have a gap in coverage that’s 395 days or less
• Renew their Kaiser Permanente plan every year

_{^* Most members can also access their digital ID card through kp.org or the Kaiser Permanente app. This option is not available for Northern California, Medicare members, and some out-of-area plans.}

Save time by understanding the process to submit the right information when changing an email or physical address.

Changing an email address

1. Instantly update your email address by logging into account.kp.org and clicking on Change Group Information on the landing page or from your book of business (for brokers).
   
   
2. Submit an e-signature Contact Change Request form. Use our electronic signature form to update an email address and completed documents will route directly for faster processing.
   
   
3. Submit requests via email. An authorized signer for your group can send an email to ca.kp.ebs@kp.org with the subject line "Email address change request."
   The following information must be included in the body of the email.
   - Your Customer ID number
   - First name and last name
   - New email address
   
   
4. Call Employer & Broker Services at 877-762-8247.

Changing a physical address

Physical address changes cannot be made through account.kp.org self-service transactions. You may change a physical address in one of the following ways.

1. Submit an e-signature Customer Name or Address Change Request Form to update company address, name, or federal tax ID (EIN) number, and completed documents will route directly to KP for processing. Submit one form per address that needs to be changed.
   
   
2. Submit a request by email. Complete the Customer Name or Address Change Request Form and send an email to ca.kp.ebs@kp.org with the subject line "Physical address change request." Include your Customer ID number in the body of the email. For each address that needs to be changed, indicate if the address is a:
   
   • Physical location (California address — no P.O. boxes or purchased addresses)
   • Billing address (where billing statements should be mailed)
   • Mailing address (where contract and renewal information should be mailed)
   • Physical, billing, and mailing address (if they’re all the same)
   
   
3. It is important to submit your physical address change before your renewal date to be rated by the specific rating area appropriately. Changing your physical address after your renewal date means that any applicable new rates will go into effect at the following year’s renewal.

If you have any other questions, please contact your account manager, or call Employer & Broker Services at 877-762-8247.