I've learned from Jerry Wilcox that there will be no "annual Benefits changes"
release this year, but you might think of r1608 in that light, as its purpose
is to make benefits-related changes.

R1608 addresses three topics:

- Requirements of the California Domestic Partner Rights and
   Responsibilities Act of 2003 that take effect on January 1st, 2005.
   The University's implementation in PPS is such that "Employees with
   an opposite-sex domestic partner may use the same interdependency
   criteria as the same-sex domestic partners."

- New Mexico's SB457, which requires "health plan sponsors to allow
   eligible dependents to remain in non-self funded health plans through
   age 25."

- Modifications to support enrollment of non-tax dependent disabled
   children in health and welfare programs.

The program modifications fall into these groups:

- The IMEM screen program is modified "to add a description 'Child-
   Disabled' for Non Tax-dependent Overage Disabled Child (Rel Code 'N')
   when Deenrollment Indicator is 'Y'."

- A series of PPEC70* programs that perform dependent/employee
  consistency editing for medical, dental, vision, legal, and basic benefits
   is updated with edits for opposite sex domestic partners and New Mexico
   age limit edits.

- The PPEI360 module invoked in monthly periodic maintenance is
   "modified to set dependent coverage end dates for New Mexico dependents
   becoming 23 years of age (only legal) or 25 years of age (for medical,
   dental and vision)."

- Two modules (PPCOVEDB and PPCOVRGE) that derive medical/dental/
   vision/legal coverage codes have logic added for opposite sex domestic
   partners and non tax-dependent overage disabled children.

TABLE UPDATES
   Although not shown on the release letter, r1608 does include table updates.
(Base will issue a revised letter.)  You'll be happy to note that none of these
require site-specific values.

- data element - two new dependent relationship codes are added:
         'L' for opposite sex domestic partner, and 'N' for non tax-dependent
         disabled child, as well as a new 'M' code for dependent de-enrollment
         control code
- messages - a long list of 08- and 12- edit messages
- code translation - adds entries for the three new codes added to the data
          element table

IMPLEMENTATION
   This is a date-mandated release (yes, another one!).  Installation must
occur
prior to posting Open Enrollment transactions in early December.  In practical
terms, that means we have a very long list of events that must occur in
precisely the right order:

1 - R1605 (still pending for ASUCLA and Hastings)
2 - final November compute and monthly reporting
3 - installation of r1607
4 - monthly periodic maintenance
5 - one-time program PPO1607A
6 - installation of r1608
7 - EDB update to process first set of OE transactions
8 - first December compute (12/9 for SD.  12/10 for DV.)

It's going to be very tight for some sites but with more wiggle room for
others.
Ok to install r1608 prior to the first OE update?

   bvb