Claims and Appeals for the MetLife PDP

Citi Benefits Handbook

The amount of time MetLife will take to make a decision on a claim will depend on the type of claim.


Type of Claim	Timeline After a Claim Is Filed
Post-service claims (for claims filed after the service has been received)	Decision within 30 days; one 15-day extension (notice of the need for an extension must be given before the end of the 30-day period) Notice that more information is needed must be given within 30 days You have 45 days to submit any additional information needed to process the claim¹
Preservice claims (for services requiring precertification of services)	Decision within 15 days; one 15-day extension (notice of the need for an extension must be given before the end of the 15-day period) Notice that more information is needed must be given within five days You have 45 days to submit any additional information needed to process the claim¹
Urgent care claims (for services requiring precertification of services where a delay could jeopardize life or health)	Decision made within 72 hours Notice that more information is needed must be given within 24 hours You have 48 hours to submit any additional information needed to process the claim; you will be notified of the decision within 48 hours of receipt of the additional information
Concurrent care claims (for ongoing treatment)	Decision made within 24 hours for urgent care treatment Decision made sufficiently in advance for all other claims

¹ The time period allowed to make a decision is suspended pending receipt of additional information.

Important COVID-19-Related Changes that Extend Claims and Appeals Deadlines

On May 4, 2020, the U.S. Departments of Labor and the Treasury (the Agencies) issued guidance that temporarily extends the deadlines in place for certain benefit changes and processes associated with election, notification, payment and claims/appeals in connection with COVID-19, which was deemed a National Emergency on March 1, 2020 (the National Emergency). To protect individuals from losing benefits, the Agencies extended deadlines that might have been missed during the National Emergency, which ended on May 11, 2023. The temporary extension of the deadlines expired on July 10, 2023, 60 days after the end of the National Emergency.

If your deadline to file a claim or appeal occurred during the National Emergency (March 1, 2020- May 11, 2023) and you have exceeded the deadlines outlined in the plan documents or denial notification, you may have additional time to submit your claim or appeal.

For more information, contact your dental plan Claims Administrator to obtain a claims appeal form. For claims regarding eligibility or enrollment in a plan, call the Citi Benefits Center through ConnectOne at 1 (800) 881-3938. See the For More Information section for detailed instructions, including TDD and international assistance.

You have the right to request a reconsideration of the denied claim by calling or writing to MetLife. Any additional information that you feel would support the claim should be provided to MetLife.

If, after the review, it is determined that the initial denial can be reversed and the claim paid, normal processing steps are followed. If, after the review, it is determined that the original denial stands, a denial letter is written to you.

Responses to an appeal are conducted by an individual of higher authority than the person who originally denied the claim. The response includes:

An explanation in plain language of why the charges are denied; and

A reference to the wording from this Plan document that justifies the denial.

The appeal request must be submitted in writing to MetLife within 180 days of receipt of the denial letter. As part of this review, you or your legal representative has the right to review all pertinent documents and submit issues and comments in writing to a Committee selected by MetLife. The Committee consists of senior representatives of MetLife Dental Claim Management and a Dental Consultant.

For preservice, post-service and concurrent claim appeals, Citi has delegated to MetLife as Claims Administrator the exclusive right to interpret and administer the provisions of the Preferred Dental Plan. The Claims Administrator's decisions are conclusive and binding. The Claims Administrator's decision is based only on whether benefits are available under the plan for the proposed treatment or procedure. The determination as to whether the pending health service is necessary or appropriate is between you and your physician.

If you do not agree with the Final Internal Adverse Benefit Determination on review, you have the right to bring a civil action under Section 502(a) of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, as amended (ERISA), provided that you file any lawsuit or similar enforcement proceeding, commenced in any forum, within 12 consecutive months after the date of receiving a final determination on review of your claim or, if earlier, within two years from the date on which you were aware, or should have been aware, of the claim at issue in the suit.

The two-year limitation shall be increased by any time a claim or appeal on the issue is under consideration by the appropriate fiduciary. If any different period to begin suit is specified in an insurance contract forming part of the Plans or any shorter period is specified in the rules of the Claims Administrator, that period will apply to proceedings against the insurer or with regard to the ruling of that Claims Administrator, respectively.