An Employer's Guide to Health Care Cost Containment » Dependent Eligibility Audit

Everything You Ever Wanted To Know About Dependent Eligibility Audits

Michael G. Browning — Tue, 27 Jul 2010 20:58:03 +0000

Chapman Kelly has just launched an updated and expanded dependent eligibility audit website. The new website contains The Dependent Audit Guide, the most comprehensive set of information on Dependent Eligibility Audits in existence. This guide is free to access and is meant to serve as an educational resource for anyone interested in learning more about [...]

Proposed HHS Rules Regarding What is Required to Maintain a Plan’s Grandfathered Status

Michael G. Browning — Mon, 14 Jun 2010 17:42:15 +0000

Our previous white paper on dependent eligibility under health care reform highlighted the importance of maintaining your plan’s grandfathered status in order to reduce the cost-impact of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA). Chapman Kelly has access to a copy of the proposed rules regarding how plans can maintain their grandfathered status. You [...]

3 Dependent Audit Questions Regarding the HHS Guidance on Dependent Coverage

Tony Schy — Thu, 13 May 2010 18:06:43 +0000

Now that HHS has provided a first round of guidance for the implementation of the dependent coverage provisions of Health Care Reform, new questions emerge.

Question #1: Do the changes negatively impact the expected results of a dependent audit?

The short answer is “yes,” but it is important to consider the size of the impact and [...]

HHS Issues Interim Final Regulations on Dependent Eligibility Definition Under Health Care Reform

Michael G. Browning — Mon, 10 May 2010 18:05:38 +0000

The Department of Health and Human Services(HHS) issued interim final rules regarding how dependent eligibility can be defined under health care reform. The rules (excerpted and linked below) reinforce how critical it is to maintain the grandfathered status of a group health plan. See our white paper for a complete overview of the strategies that can be used to reduce the financial impact of health care reform on dependent eligibility. Employers should begin planning right away to implement an affidavit process to determine if adult dependents have access to health coverage as a result of their own employment. Contact us to find out more about how this process would [...]

Dependent Eligibility Under Health Care Reform: Cost-Containment Strategies for Employers

Michael G. Browning — Thu, 08 Apr 2010 21:11:24 +0000

Chapman Kelly has just released the first white paper regarding how health care reform will impact dependent eligibility for group health plans.

Dependent Eligibility Under Health Care Reform: Cost-Containment Strategies Employers Should Take From The Signing Of The Bill to Beyond 2014

The impact of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) and The Health Care [...]

Director of Risk Management Provides Insights on the Value of a DEVA (Dependent Eligibility Verification Audit)

Michael G. Browning — Tue, 02 Mar 2010 17:25:51 +0000

Employee Benefit News published an insightful article on the value of a DEVA (Dependent Eligibility Verification Audit) from the perspective of someone within Risk Management. It is certainly worth reading if you are struggling with the rising cost of your organization's health plan or you are considering a Dependent Eligibility Audit (aka DEVA) for compliance [...]

Dependent Eligibility Audits in PricewaterhouseCoopers’ List of Top 10 Health Industry Issues for 2010

Michael G. Browning — Fri, 18 Dec 2009 13:47:55 +0000

A recent report by PricewaterhouseCoopers lists identifying ineligible dependents as one of the top 10 issues facing the health industry.

“Employer dependent audits: Employers are increasingly hiring experts to check whether their employees’ dependents should be insured under their benefit plans. With 3% to 8% of people failing to produce dependent verification and a $1,900 average annual [...]

Department of Defense Issues Guidance to Contractors Regarding Ineligible Dependents

Michael G. Browning — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 16:26:26 +0000

In a letter from the Defense Contract Audit Agency (DCAA), Department of Defense (DOD) contractors were informed that they will need to be able to verify that adequate controls are in place to prevent and remove ineligible dependents from the contractors’ health plans.

The DCAA indicated that DOD contractors would be subject to penalties under FAR 31.205-6(m)(1), [...]

Chapman Kelly’s Tony Schy Quoted in Article on Dependent Eligibility Audits

Michael G. Browning — Fri, 25 Sep 2009 15:13:25 +0000

Tony Schy, Partner, was quoted in an article on the effectiveness of dependent eligibility audits in reducing employer health plan costs and helping the employers with compliance.

“These days, employers will stop at nothing to eliminate excessive health plan costs. Increasingly, more benefit managers are finding they can wipe out millions of dollars worth in one fell [...]

Article in Benefits Selling Magazine:Dependent Eligibility Audits

Michael G. Browning — Mon, 01 Jun 2009 18:05:52 +0000

We published an article in the June issue of Benefits Selling. Below is an excerpt:

“Dependent-eligibility audits are an all-too-often overlooked cost control tool

Employers continue to use an arsenal of strategies to help control their health care costs. Wellness and disease management programs, consumer-directed health plans, and quality initiatives are all valuable tools in an employer’s [...]

Security and Dependent Eligibility Audits – Part 1 of 2

Michael G. Browning — Fri, 15 May 2009 13:48:57 +0000

As Human Resource and Benefits professionals you understand the importance of confidentiality and security when handling sensitive personal data and health care information. During a dependent audit some of the most sensitive employee data available is gathered and processed. This data includes: Birth Certificates, Divorce Decrees, Tax Forms, Marriage Licenses and many other documents. If you are considering a dependent eligibility [...]

Isn’t my enrollment vendor already verifying the eligibility of the dependents on our plan?

Michael G. Browning — Fri, 08 May 2009 13:03:25 +0000

Question 1: Isn't my enrollment vendor already verifying the eligibility of the dependents on our plan? Question 2: When the average person looks under the hood of a used car, can they really tell if anything is wrong with it? Answer to Question 1 and Question 2: Not Really A large number of organizations are under the impression that their enrollment vendor is verifying the eligibility of the dependents on their plan. But this is a dangerous assumption. The problem with most of their verification processes is one of both consistency and [...]

Verifying a Spouse During a Dependent Eligibility Audit

Susie Licht — Wed, 15 Apr 2009 21:00:22 +0000

Choosing what documents to require during a dependent audit is an important step in an effective audit process. Many organizations only require a marriage certificate in order to prove this relationship. While this is certainly acceptable, it is important for employers to understand how this decision will impact the audit.

A marriage certificate only proves that [...]

Do Not Let Your Clients Make These Six Dependent Audit Mistakes

Michael G. Browning — Tue, 14 Apr 2009 14:47:13 +0000

Tony Schy recently published an article on dependent eligibility audits in Employee Benefit Adviser.

“Dependent eligibility audits are a hot topic. The high return on investment has helped this cost containment strategy become a central point of discussion between many advisers and their clients. While audits can be extremely effective, advisers should make sure that their [...]

Social Security Numbers and Dependent Audits

Michael G. Browning — Mon, 16 Mar 2009 18:08:45 +0000

If your organization is going to conduct a dependent eligibility audit, you should consider new federal requirement regarding Third-Party Administrators and their reporting of Social Security Numbers (SSN). Your TPA’s will start requiring all employers to provide SSNs for all covered individuals.

“A new Mandatory Insurer Reporting Law (Section 111 of Public Law 110-173) requires group [...]

Employers are Turning to Dependent Audits to Control Costs

Michael G. Browning — Mon, 23 Feb 2009 15:28:13 +0000

A recent survey by the International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans indicates that dependent audits are being used by a significant amount of employers to cust costs.

“With cost-savings in mind, some employers are conducting dependent eligibility audits to accurately determine who is covered under their plan. A recent survey conducted by the International Foundation of [...]

NJ Dependent Audit Suffers More Fallout from Poor Communication

Michael G. Browning — Wed, 18 Feb 2009 15:35:30 +0000

New Jersey’s dependent verification project continues to suffer from poor communication. An article in The Daily Journal states:

“State workers and their unions are seething over the way an audit of New Jersey’s health care plan is being conducted.

It’s been three weeks since the state launched the review of roughly 225,000 public employees to root out [...]

Best Practice: Dependent Audit Communication – Details Matter

Michael G. Browning — Thu, 12 Feb 2009 13:40:22 +0000

“It’s the little details that are vital. Little things make big things happen.” – John Wooden

As I mentioned in a previous post, early communication with your employees is critical to the success of a dependent eligibility audit.

Today’s news brought an example of what can happen if this early communication isn’t carefully considered. The State of New [...]

To Amnesty or Not to Amnesty, that is the question…

Tony Schy — Fri, 06 Feb 2009 13:32:14 +0000

Well, at least it is one of the questions that many employers ask when contemplating a dependent eligibility audit. While you can certainly make a compelling case in either direction, here are a few things to consider [Follow this link for a primer on how an Amnesty program fits in to an audit]: • A dependent eligibility audit [...]

Dependent Eligibility Audits – Early Communication with Employees

Michael G. Browning — Tue, 03 Feb 2009 15:23:36 +0000

“If there is any great secret of success in life, it lies in the ability to put yourself in the other person’s place and to see things from his point of view – as well as your own.” –Henry Ford

One of the most important factors in completing a successful dependent audit is understanding your employees’ [...]