Toolkit for HR Partners

Why is it our shared responsibility to protect our self-funded plans?

The United Nations is both the policyholder and the insurer of all UNHQ self-insured plans, including the UN Worldwide Plan and the UN MIP. 

In fulfilling this mandate, the United Nations offers group insurance plans that cover the risk of a person incurring health-related expenses by spreading the risk across all plan participants. The premium should be sufficient to ensure that we, together with the Member States, collect sufficient funds to pay for the health care benefits specified in the health insurance plans. Staff, retirees, and Member States all contribute to a common fund and the premiums are used to cover the cost of the programme. Therefore, our utilization directly impacts the premiums we pay.  

It is the shared responsibility of all plan participants to ensure the sustainability of our plans. To support you with exercising your mandate as the UN MIP is managed locally, by HR in the offices away from HQ, we hope that the below overview of roles and responsibilities will be helpful.

Key Roles and Responsibilities

For UN MIP

HR Partners in Missions

  • Manage UN MIP at designated duty station
  • Provide training to locally recruited staff on UN MIP
  • Process eligibility matters, coordinate payment issues and collection of ASHI contributions
  • Gather structural issues regarding services and address them to Cigna and, if needed, the UN HLIS

Mission Medical Services

  • Provide support and input for the medical facilities network reviews
  • Coordinate medical evacuations and ensure Cigna is notified and updated
  • Work with UNHQ’s Medical Services (DHMOSH) to determine locations for medical evacuations

Plan Participants

  • Become well-informed participants and make every effort to safeguard the viability of UN MIP
  • Eliminate abuse and reject fraudulent claims
  • Ensure that personal and health insurance records in Umoja are correct
  • Inform HR partners about any changes to their family situations or other qualifying events

Health and Life Insurance Section

  • Provides policy and technical support to HR partners in missions and regional service centers
  • Provides trainings and information sessions to HR partners

Cigna International

  • Provides administrative services only
  • Processes claims according to plan rules, stipulated by UN
  • Responds to inquiries from plan participants
  • Offers a broad network of health care providers 
  • Issues guarantees of payment 
  • Provides ID cards that are sent to the local office 
  • Investigate and report fraud, waste and abuse

 

For UNHQ-administered health insurance plans (Aetna, Empire Blue Cross, Cigna Dental and UN WWP):

HR partners

  • Understand and promulgate the spirit of the UNHQ-administered health plans 
  • Provide and maintain staff members and dependants' information correctly in Umoja

Plan Participants

  • Become well-informed participants and make every effort to safeguard the viability of the health insurance plans
  • Eliminate abuse and reject fraudulent claims
  • Ensure that personal and health insurance records in Umoja are correct
  • Inform HR partners about any changes to their family situation or other qualifying events

Health and Life Insurance Section

  • Provides client services to plan participants
  • Provides trainings and information sessions to HR partners

Third-Party Administrators (Aetna, Empire Blue Cross and Cigna)

  • Provide administrative services only
  • Process claims according to plan rules, stipulated by UN
  • Respond to inquiries from plan participants
  • Offer a broad network of health care providers 
  • Issue guarantees of payment 
  • Provide ID cards that are directly sent to home addresses
  • Investigate and report fraud, waste and abuse

FAQs

Can plan participants enroll in a different health insurance plan during flexible working arrangements?

Plan eligibility is based on the staff member's duty station as specified in Umoja, Atlas, SAP or oneUNOPS by the respective HR partner. Therefore, staff members with duty station New York cannot enroll in the UN WWP. 

Who carries insurance coverage in the case of a staff member married to another staff member?

In the case of a staff member married to another staff member, both staff members may either elect to maintain their own individual insurance coverage at the “staff member only” coverage level or elect “staff member plus spouse” or family insurance coverage. In the case of coverage at the two-person, i.e. “staff member plus spouse”, or family level, where both staff members are to be covered, such coverage must be carried by the higher-salaried staff member.  

Who carries insurance coverage in the case of a staff member married to another staff member where one staff member retires?

If one spouse retires from service with the Organization before the other, the spouse who remains in active service must become the subscriber even if the retired spouse had been the subscriber up to the date of retirement and is eligible for after-service health insurance benefits following separation from service. The retiring staff member must nevertheless apply for after-service health insurance to the Health and Life Insurance Section in order to preserve his or her right to exercise the benefit in the future. 

Guidance Material

Guidance Brochure

MIP Onboarding Brochure for HR partners

Policy Documents UNHQ-administered plans

ST/IC/2020

Policy Documents MIP

ST/AI/2015/3

ST/IC/2015/8

Who to contact with any questions

For questions related to the enrollment, maintenance and changes in and of the UN MIP:

As UN MIP is administered directly by the respective entities, we kindly ask you to only reach out to the Health and Life Insurance Section via hlis@un.org in case you require policy or technical support.

For questions related to the enrollment, maintenance and changes in and of the UNHQ-administered health insurance plan:

Please contact the UN Health and Life Insurance Section (HLIS) via our dedicated mailbox hlis@un.org.

For questions related to ID cards, claim processes or fraud issues, please contact the Third-Party Administrator via:

Empire:

  • Domestic: Call +1 855 519 9537
  • International: Call the Bluecard PPO Pogram via +1 800 810 2583

Aetna:

Cigna Dental:

  • Call +1 800 244 6224.

Cigna International (UN MIP and UN WWP):

  • Europe and Africa: Call +32 3 217 68 42
  • The Americas: Call +1 305 908 91 01
  • Asia and Australia/Oceania: Call +60 3 2178 05 55
  • Call via commercial Skype on “Cigna Health Benefits”.
  • Use the call back feature on Cigna’s member pages under header ‘Contact’.
  • Email un.wwp@cigna.com or un.mip@cigna.com.