ACA and KU Employees

Affordable Care Act (ACA) Eligible Employees

If you do not meet the criteria for benefits eligible employees, you will be eligible to enroll in the State Employee Health Plan (SEHP) if you meet any of the following criteria:

You are a student, lecturer or part-time faculty member who worked an average of 30 hours per week or more over a 12 month measurement period (1,560 hours total), you will be eligible under the SEHP's full-time category.
You are a staff member who worked an average of 19.2 hours per week or more over a 12-month measurement period (1,000 hours total), you will be eligible under the SEHP's part-time category, or an average of 30 hours per week over a 12-month measurement period (1,560 hours total), you will be eligible under the SEHP's full-time category.
You are employed in a position deemed ACA-Eligible: You are a Residential Graduate Assistant or you are appointed to a non-benefits eligible, exempt, student position with at least a .75 Full Time Equivalent (FTE) at the beginning of the Fall or Spring semester, you will be eligible under the SEHP's full-time category.

An Introduction to the ACA and ACA Eligibility

The federal ACA was enacted to provide broader health insurance coverage to U.S. workers by partnering with employers to expand eligibility for their health insurance programs. The following KU employee groups who were formerly not eligible for the State Employee Health Plan (SEHP) could now become eligible for that plan:

Student employees (hourly and graduate)
Temporary employees
Part-time employees in regular positions with less than 48% FTE

To comply with the Shared Responsibility Provisions of the ACA, the University of Kansas created employment policies to address the requirements of the law, provide balance with the academic and research mission of the University, and minimize as much as possible the liabilities and administrative burdens resulting from ACA. These policies have an impact on appointment percentages and the reporting of time worked.

Human Resources (HR) will include all hours worked at all state of Kansas agencies, during the measurement period, to determine ACA eligibility. It is the employee’s responsibility to ensure that information about prior and concurrent state of Kansas employment is provided in a timely manner to HR. Below are some other resources to help you understand more about ACA:

Affordable Care Act Frequently Asked Questions (University of Kansas) - This information provides questions and answers addressing the provisions of KU's ACA policies.
Employee Eligibility Based on Employment Category (University of Kansas) (pdf) - This chart provides a broad overview of KU employee categories and how ACA-Eligibility is determined.
Affordable Care Act Marketplace Notice for Active Employees -State of Kansas (pdf) - This federal model notice informs employees of the coverage offered by the SEHP.

Questions or Concerns?

For more information on how the ACA affects your insurance options, please contact HR's ACA Benefits Specialist by email at hraca@ku.edu or by phone at 785-864-7402. If you do not meet the requirements for the SEHP and are interested in benefits offered through federal exchanges, please visit the Health Care site for more information.

*An accessible version of the PDFs on this site will be made available upon request. Please contact our office at hrdept@ku.edu to request the document be made available in an accessible format.