Guidelines and Detail

We understand that the high cost of health care may be a burden to some staff. To make it easier for you to provide medical coverage for your family, we created the Medical Contribution Assistance Program (MCAP). If you qualify, the program pays up to the full employee contribution of the lowest cost medical plan when you cover your spouse and/or your children. If you and your dependents are enrolled in a different university-sponsored plan, you pay the difference between what the university will pay for the lowest cost plan and the plan you select.

Example 1

• Your combined family adjusted gross income is $56,000.
• The university pays 100% of your cost for family coverage in the lowest cost plan OR
• If you enroll in another plan, you pay the difference between what the university will pay for the lowest cost plan and the plan you select.

Example 2

• Your combined family adjusted gross income is $66,000.
• The university pays 50% of your cost for family coverage in the lowest cost plan OR
• If you enroll in another plan, you pay the difference between what the university will pay for the lowest cost plan and the plan you select.

To Qualify

You are eligible to apply for MCAP if:

• You work in a benefits-eligible position at least 75% full-time.
• Your job is for at least six months (four months if represented by SEIU Higher Education Workers Local 2007).
• Your combined family Adjusted Gross Income (AGI), as stated on your most recent Federal income tax return, is $77,000 or less.

We encourage you to complete the application form and send it or fax it in with your most recent Federal tax return. We will determine your eligibility based on the information you send. You will receive notification of your eligibility for the MCAP by U.S. mail to your mailing address on file with Stanford.

How the Plan Works

To be considered for MCAP, each applicant must show "financial need." Normally the program determines financial need based on an applicant's household adjusted gross income based on most recent tax return. Once we review the application and approve it, you will receive a subsidy for all or part of your cost for dependent medical coverage in the lowest cost plan. Payroll applies the subsidy against your share of the cost for family coverage each pay period.

You continue to receive the MCAP subsidy for the entire calendar year, as long as you meet the eligibility requirements. The subsidy stops if you no longer:

• work at least 75% full-time, or
• cover dependents.

If you are laid off, your MCAP subsidy ends the last day of the month in which your employment ends. MCAP is not considered part of Stanford's contribution towards any layoff COBRA subsidy you might receive.

You must reapply each year, look for a new application during the annual MCAP enrollment period -- normally in August. Your MCAP application and latest tax return (see Note 1) will be reviewed and if you continue to qualify, the MCAP subsidy will start again the following January 1.

Note 1: If you have not yet filed a Federal tax return during the year you apply, you may submit your prior year’s tax return, but include a copy of your extension.

If you are married and file separately, or if your household includes a domestic partner, you must submit copies of their Federal tax return in addition to yours, even if you do not currently cover your spouse or domestic partner on a Stanford benefit plan.

When to Apply

We will send you an MCAP application if your base salary is $80,000 or less, you work at least 75% full-time in a benefits-eligible position, and you :

• are a new hire in a benefits-eligible position,
• move to a benefits-eligible position, or
• have a life event change and add dependents to your Stanford medical coverage.

If you feel you are eligible and should have received an application, or you do not want to wait until we send you one, you can find an application in the Resource Library . Just type MCAP into keywords.

Complete the application and follow the instructions for sending it or faxing it to us. Remember, we do not accept applications through ID mail or dropped off at our campus location.

If we approve your application, the MCAP subsidy starts as soon as administratively possible. It is not retroactive to the date you became eligible or applied for MCAP.

Tax Information and MCAP

We use your latest Federal tax information to determine eligibility for MCAP (see Note 2). If you apply for MCAP and then amend your return, you may contact us to request a change to your MCAP subsidy. Simply mail or fax us a copy of your amended return along with verification or proof that the IRS received it. If we approve your request and modify your MCAP subsidy, Payroll will make the change as soon as administratively possible. The change cannot be retroactive to the date of the request.

Note 2: If you did not file taxes because you were not required to (i.e. you came from a foreign country and did not earn US income in the prior year) you can apply using paycheck stubs to validate family income. Going forward during the annual MCAP enrollment period, if you have filed a tax return, you will need to re-apply and provide appropriate documentation.

• Submit a copy of two most recent pay statements as well as two of the most recent pay statements of any other house hold members.
• Stanford will use the gross income shown on each current pay statement and will multiply it by the number of pay periods required to arrive at an annual taxable gross amount. The MCAP subsidy will be based on annualized gross income since no AGI is available.

Questions?

If you have questions about your eligibility or the application process, feel free to call us at
(650) 736-2985 and press option 9.