Expecting Parent Resource Guide – Section 6

Taking a leave of absence  

As an adoptive parent, you may qualify for and consider taking a leave of absence through the Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA) to care for your newly adopted child.

• To qualify, you must have been employed for 12 months and worked at least 1,250 hours in the 12 months directly preceding your leave.
• The Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) provides eligible employees up to 12 weeks of unpaid leave in a rolling 12-month period.

Our leave of absence partner, The Hartford, recommends submitting your leave of absence request 30 days before your due date. To begin the process, call The Hartford at 866-315-0809 (reference policy 675446) and have the following information ready:

• Your name, address and other key identification information
• The name of your department and the date of your anticipated last full day of work
• The nature of your leave request
• Your treating physician’s name, address, phone number and fax number

Within five business days of initiating a leave request, The Hartford will mail an eligibility packet to your provided home address. When you receive the packet, review all the documents and confirm the deadline for returning your medical forms. All documentation related to a leave of absence should be sent directly to The Hartford, not to your manager. While your leave of absence claim is being processed, the status of the claim will be pending until your due date. Your manager will receive notification of your pending claim from The Hartford. After filing your claim, you should discuss your plans for a leave of absence with your manager.

Using paid time off and Extended Illness Reserve

While you are on a continuous leave of absence, such as FMLA leave, you can use your available paid time off (PTO) or Extended Illness Reserve (EIR), if applicable. Employees with a legacy sick leave balance or those acquired as a result of an integration may have their sick leave balance transferred to a legacy (EIR) account.

• Your accrued PTO/EIR will automatically be applied to your timecard. Any paid leave taken for this reason will be designated as FMLA leave (if available) and counted toward the total amount of FMLA entitlement you have available to use in the applicable 12-month period.
• If you do not want to use your PTO/EIR while on leave, you must notify Human Resources at AskHR@kumc.edu or 913- 945-6500 before the date your PTO/EIR would be used.

During your leave

You should not work while on leave – instead, focus on your family. Your Leave Consultant and a representative from The Hartford may be in contact with you regarding your leave during this time.

Your benefits while on leave

If you are using PTO or EIR to supplement your pay while on leave, all applicable insurance premiums will continue to be deducted as they normally are. These premiums include medical, dental, vision, buy-up short-term disability, supplemental life insurance, supplemental AD&D insurance, spouse/child life insurance, critical illness insurance, hospital indemnity insurance, accident insurance, legal insurance, ID theft insurance and spousal surcharge.

If your leave is no longer being supplemented by PTO or EIR and you are on unpaid leave, all applicable premiums must continue being paid. Premium payments can be:

• Paid by personal check while on leave; a personal check can be made out to The University of Kansas Health System and sent to The University of Kansas Health System Attn: Leave Administration at 5799 Broadmoor St. Suite 650 Mission, KS 66202.
• Deducted at 1.5 times per pay period upon return from leave until all missed premiums are repaid.

In some cases, you may need to make additional arrangements to ensure your benefits do not lapse:

• Whole life insurance: You are responsible for contacting Boston Mutual at 800-669-2668 ext. 222 to make direct bill payments or set up auto-draft payments while you are on leave. If your payments fall more than 60 days behind, the policy will lapse.
• Home, auto and pet insurance: You will be moved to a direct-bill status and receive a bill for missed premiums directly from MetLife while on leave.
• Healthcare Flexible Spending Account (FSA) and Health Savings Account (HSA): Any missed contributions that would typically have been deducted from your pay will be recalculated and split among the remaining pay periods in the calendar year, upon your return from leave.
• Dependent Care Flexible Spending Account (FSA): Your contributions will stop while you are on leave. Email BenefitsConnection@kumc.edu to restart contributions upon your return from leave.
• Retirement: Your retirement contributions will temporarily pause while you are not receiving pay from the health system and will automatically start again upon your return from unpaid leave.

Returning to work

Before returning to work, you will need to complete a Return to Work form. This form will indicate whether you have any restrictions upon coming back to work or if you are fully cleared to return. Return this form to our Employee Health team prior to your return.

Frequently used forms

• Claim flier
• Leave of Absence checklist
• Return to work guidelines 
• Return to work form
• Family and Medical Leave Act poster
• Family and Medical Leave Act rights and responsibilities 

Family and Medical Leave Act rights and responsibilities

How to add a baby to your health insurance

Outside of annual benefits enrollment, you can make changes to your health insurance coverage when you have a qualifying life event, and adopting a child is considered a qualifying life event. You have 30 days from the qualifying life event to submit documentation on our benefits website. New family members are not automatically added to your insurance plan. You’ll need to provide appropriate documentation for the qualifying life event (ex: certified adoption decree/finalization papers, birth certificate, etc.) to make the change. For assistance, call 888-494-9119. 

Keep in mind that if our insurance plan administrator receives a hospital or medical claim for the birth of a child, and the child has not been added to your insurance plan during the 30-day window, the claim will not be covered until the child is added to your insurance.

Using Healthcare FSA, Dependent Care FSA and HSA accounts

If you have a Healthcare Flexible Spending Account (FSA) or a Health Savings Account (HSA), you can use these to pay for qualified expenses. You also can use a Dependent Care FSA to pay for care for a child or dependent adult, such as preschool, day care and summer day camp. Learn more about an HSA, Healthcare FSA and Dependent Care FSA, and see the chart below for more information.

	Health savings account (HSA)	Healthcare flexible spending account (FSA)	Dependent care flexible spending account (FSA)
Who can open the account?	Employees who elect the HSA Advantage Medical Plan.	Benefit-eligible employees who are not enrolled in the HSA Advantage Medical Plan.	Any benefit-eligible employee.
Why should I open an account?	To save for future healthcare expenses in 2026 and beyond. Money goes in tax-free, is invested tax-free and can be used to pay for qualified medical, dental and vision expenses. The health system contributes $500 for employee-only coverage; $1,000 for family.	To save for healthcare expenses expected in 2026. The money you set aside in the FSA is not subject to payroll taxes, so you take home more of your paycheck.	To save for dependent care expenses expected in 2026. The money you set aside in the FSA is not subject to payroll taxes, so you take home more of your paycheck.
How can I use the money?	To pay for medical, dental and vision expenses including deductibles, coinsurance, prescriptions and other eligible expenses.	To pay for medical, dental and vision expenses including deductibles, coinsurance, prescriptions and other eligible expenses.	To pay for eligible expenses at licensed day or elder care centers, nursery schools, day camps and home care with valid tax ID numbers.
What if I don’t use the money in 2026?	All unused funds roll over each year.	Any unused funds are forfeited. You have until April 30, 2026, to submit claims for eligible expenses incurred Jan. 1, 2026-Feb. 29, 2026.	Any unused funds are forfeited. You have until April 30, 2027, to submit claims for eligible expenses incurred Jan. 1, 2026-Feb. 29, 2027.
When can I use the money in my account?	Money you contribute from each paycheck is available as soon as it’s added to your account. Funds provided by the health system are available Jan. 1 or, for newly eligible employees, as sson as their account is activated.	Your total annual elected amount is available for you to use beginning Jan. 1, 2026.	Money you contribute from each paycheck is available as soon as it’s added to your account.
Can I invest the money in my account?	Yes	No	No
How much can I contribute?	$3,850 individual, $7,750 family. Age 55 and over can contribute an extra $1,000.	$2,850	$5,000

Note: You typically cannot have both an active HSA and a Healthcare FSA account. However, if you are a benefits-eligible employee, you can have a Dependent Care Flexible Spending Account (FSA), even if you have an HSA or Healthcare FSA.

How to find a pediatrician

New parents should select a pediatrician before or soon after the adoption of a child. If you are adopting a newborn and the baby is born within the health system, a pediatrician in the hospital will talk with you about when your newborn should be seen by their pediatrician, typically one to three days after being discharged from the hospital. They will assist with the scheduling of your baby’s first appointment.

To find and schedule an appointment with a pediatrician, call 913-588-1227 or request an appointment online.  As a reminder, if you are covered under the health system’s medical plan, selecting a health system pediatrician is the most cost-effective option of care.

Family care benefits

The health system offers care solutions to help you balance the demands of family with your other commitments. Through our partnership with Bright Horizons, benefits-eligible employees can find back-up care when your trusted caregiver is not available. This benefit is available only in Kansas City.

Perks For You discounts for your growing family

With Perks For You, you and your family can save money with exclusive savings and discounts from thousands of local businesses and national brands, including baby care items. Perks For You is a digital portal that gives all health system employees, regardless of benefits eligibility, and their spouses access to thousands of discounts. Save on baby gear, clothing, parenting classes and even tuition at local daycares, as well as electronics, tickets, travel, transportation, food and more.

Sign up to begin saving today and download the BenefitHub app on your phone.

Preparing your family’s finances

The health system and our financial wellness partner, Fidelity, have a robust library of resources to help you prepare financially for the birth or adoption of a child. To learn about their financial planning tools, benefits-eligible employees can log in to their account at NetBenefits.com/AtWork to access:

• Articles on financial considerations of having or adopting a child
• Goal booster tool to help you save for childbirth or adoption expenses
• Help with estate planning
• College savings tools
• Guidance on updating your policy beneficiaries
• Information about utilizing flexible spending accounts (FSA)
• Insights about the financial considerations of being a stay-at-home parent

Establishing a 529 education savings plan for Kansas & Missouri residents

It’s never too early to start saving for the future, and saving now for future education expenses can add up big over time. The health system makes it easy with the option to deposit part of your paycheck in a Learning Quest Education Savings 529 account. This benefit is open to all employees, regardless of benefits eligibility.

Explore the benefits and key features of a 529 plan, how to open a new account, how to contribute to an existing account via direct deposit and more.