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November 27, 2023

Hello, Colorado FAMLI community!

Our November newsletter is buzzing with anticipation for FAMLI benefits becoming available in January 2024. We're here to keep you in the loop on essential updates for employers, health care providers, and individuals and families. To receive these updates directly to your phone, don't forget to add your mobile number to your subscription preferences.

Attention Coloradans: My FAMLI+ is Live Now!

The time to apply for FAMLI benefits has arrived! While January 2024 is not far away, Colorado workers can start their applications for anticipated leave in My FAMLI+ now. My FAMLI+ is the online portal that Coloradans will use to apply for benefits, submit required serious health condition forms, review the status of their claims and manage their benefit payment options.

To support you through the application process, we have a step-by-step user guide, several how-to videos and an application checklist. Once you’re ready, start by creating an account in My FAMLI+ here.

If you still need help, give us a call 1-866-CO-FAMLI (1-866-263-2654) Monday–Friday 8 a.m. – 4 p.m. MT.

We encourage you to share your experience with us after filing your claim in order to continue improving the customer experience. Please fill out our My FAMLI+ feedback form here.

Applying for FAMLI Leave in Advance

You can apply for FAMLI leave up to 30 days in advance of your leave start date. Things to keep in mind as you file your claim:

• New parents filing a Parental (Bonding) Leave claim do not need their claim verified by a healthcare provider. Instead, they will need to upload proof of birth or placement which must include the child’s birth date or placement date. Examples include:
• a birth certificate, or verification of birth worksheet
• birth or recovery care documentation from a health care provider or medical facility
• adoption or foster care placement paperwork 
• If you’re filing a claim in advance, the final step before the FAMLI Division can approve your benefit payments is to let us know that your leave has officially begun. This will show up as a task in your Claims Dashboard in your My FAMLI+ account. Even if you successfully submitted all required documentation, you must log into your account or call the contact center to let us know when your leave has officially started.
• You can file your claim now, but FAMLI benefits don’t become available until January. 

Learn more about the different reasons you can take FAMLI leave and how you can take your leave on our Individuals and Families page.

Attend an Upcoming Virtual Town Hall

To help everyone navigate the portal and get their questions answered about applying for FAMLI benefits, we’ll be hosting virtual town halls in English and Spanish on the following dates:

• December 6, 2023:
• English: 11 a.m. - 12 p.m.
• Spanish: 3 - 4 p.m.
• January 10, 2024:
• English:11 a.m. - 12 p.m.
• Spanish: 3 - 4 p.m.
• February 1, 2024:
• 11 a.m. - 12 p.m.
• Spanish: 3 - 4 p.m.

Registration, streaming and dial-in details are available on our Events page.

Spread the Word About FAMLI

Help us get the word out that Coloradans can now start applying for paid family leave benefits by posting about FAMLI on social media. Check out our Marketing Kit for suggested captions, images and videos to use on your channels. We also have a newsletter article and a FAMLI fact sheet available in English and Spanish. 

Employers & Third Party Administrators: Update Your HR Point of Contact in My FAMLI+ Employer

Employers and TPAs, now that your employees will be able to start applying for FAMLI leave, you’ll want to make sure you add the contact information for your HR Benefits Manager in My FAMLI+ Employer. This new feature allows you to easily designate a dedicated point of contact for your HR Benefits Manager within your organization and any other organizations you represent.

This designated contact will be the go-to person who receives documentation when an employee applies for FAMLI leave. If a point of contact isn't provided for the HR Benefits Manager in My FAMLI+ Employer, employee benefit documentation will be sent to the main mailing address and the account holder on file via regular U.S. mail.

By adding the HR Benefits Manager's point of contact in the system, you ensure that all employee benefit documentation goes straight to the right person in your organization. 

While you’re at it, don’t forget to make sure all of your contact information (including email address) is up to date in the system.  For more information, please refer to the steps outlined on Page 41 of the Employer User Guide on our My FAMLI+ Employer page for reference.

New Employer Resource: Coordination of Benefits

Employers have options when it comes to coordinating FAMLI benefits with other employer-provided leave benefits to their staff. Get everything you need to know about coordinating your benefits on our FAMLI & Other Types of Leave page. Have this handy once your employees start applying for FAMLI leave!

Health Care Providers: Are You Ready to Certify Claims?

Attention Health Care Providers: your patients can now  start applying for paid family and medical leave benefits! You can help make their experience seamless by registering and verifying your license in, My FAMLI+, the online portal health care providers will use to certify their patients’ FAMLI claims. 

Coloradans will use  My FAMLI+ to apply for FAMLI leave, and they will need to identify their doctor when they do. When a health care provider is registered and verified in the system, you will make life easier for yourself and your patients. Your patients will be able to find you in the system, and you’ll be notified whenever they apply for benefits. Then you, or a delegated staff member, can certify their Serious Health Condition Form all online, saving your patient from pushing paperwork. Check out our how-to videos and user guide for health care providers to get it done today and be at the forefront of this vital initiative.

November Webinar Recording: Health Care Providers Part II

This month we concluded another important webinar for Health Care Providers. Our FAMLI experts provided health care providers across Colorado information about the registration process, license verification, how to manage delegated staff, and how to certify claims for their patients.

You can watch the recording and download the presentation slidedeck on our website.

People Are Asking:

Q: Will employers know if an employee has filed a claim?

Yes. FAMLI will notify employers about their employees’ FAMLI claims by sending letters to the HR Benefits Manager point of contact or the organization’s main mailing address on file in My FAMLI+ Employer. These notifications will provide details to assist employers in coordinating other benefits like FMLA, PTO, etc.

FAMLI will notify the employer during the following points in the claim filing process:

• When one of their employees has filed a FAMLI claim, even if the necessary documentation is not yet received
• When the claim filing is complete (the claimant has provided all necessary documentation for eligibility review)
• When the claim has been fully processed 
• When absence hours have been reported (this is specific to Reduced Schedule Leave or Intermittent Leave claims)
• When a FAMLI decision is appealed

These notifications will detail the dates and hours of absence. At this time, FAMLI will notify employers via mailed letters. In early 2024, employers will be able to access their employees’ FAMLI claim information electronically in My FAMLI+ Employer. 

Q: How is a "complication" defined, as it relates to the additional four weeks of pregnancy leave?

The additional four weeks of leave is limited to serious health conditions caused by complications due to pregnancy or childbirth. This additional leave will need to be supported by the claimant’s Serious Health Condition form certified by their health care provider. Additional approved leave time for pregnancy or childbirth complications pertains to the birthing parent’s health, not the baby’s health. Ultimately, only a health care provider can certify a serious health condition due to a pregnancy or a childbirth complication. 

Q: Do the 12 weeks of FAMLI leave have to be taken all at once?

FAMLI leave does not need to be taken all at once. Leave can be taken consecutively, intermittently, or at a reduced schedule. Employees will always be limited to 12 weeks of paid leave per benefit year (16 weeks if there are pregnancy/childbirth complications).

Share Your Story

We want to hear your personal stories. Please tell us how FAMLI could have or will help you. Each month we’ll feature stories like these:

"Paid family leave would have been a relief, and so valuable for our family and for my loss. I would have had more time with my mom, I would have been able to better navigate the complicated healthcare situation we were in, and I would have had less stress. I believe the experience exacerbated my grief and I mourn the time I did not get with her, due to the time I had to work. In some ways too, I wonder, if we had time to be more hands on with her care, would she have lived?" — Dana 

Read Dana’s full story on our Facebook page.