Payroll & Employee Benefits
Business Office
| Business Office | Payroll | Employee Benefits | Payments/Non-Resident Aliens |
Dependent Eligibility Audit Frequently Asked Questions
Auburn University's health and dental plans are self-funded. This means that every dollar spent on our employees' health care that they don't pay through premiums, co-pays, deductibles or co-insurance, is paid by Auburn, not by Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Alabama. From 6/1/11 - 5/31/12, our claims were $39,628,179 - expense shared by employees and Auburn. An audit is one way to try to keep our health and dental insurance costs down. Removing ineligible dependents has been proven to significantly lower plan expenses, and that will help us avoid having to pass on significant premium increases or reduce benefits to participants who are eligible to participate in the plans. Auburn University's average cost per enrolled participant is $3500. Nationwide, the average number of ineligible dependents covered on a health insurance plan is between 3-7%. Auburn's plan has about 6,200 covered dependents. If 3-7% are determined to be ineligible and removed from the plan, the potential savings is estimated to be between $650,000 and $1,500,000 per year. Are we the only ones doing this? PEEHIP just completed a dependent eligibility audit and removed 4,996 ineligibles from their plan. Their savings will be about $14,285,212 per year. Universities of Alabama, Georgia, North Carolina, Texas Tech, Kentucky, Duke, Nebraska and UAB as well as the City of Montgomery have conducted audits. Locally, the city of Montgomery recently completed a dependent audit, using the same company Auburn will be using. Who is conducting the audit? ContinuousHealth will conduct the audit. We chose them for 2 primary reasons. First, they understand and respect our unique culture. Second, they offer a "soft landing" program that helps anyone found ineligible to find alternative, affordable coverage to meet their specific needs. When will the audit begin? The audit will begin in January/early February. Information packets will be mailed out from ContinuousHealth mid-January and will contain detailed instructions. What is the definition of an eligible dependent? The definition of eligible dependents will be on the Dependent Eligibility Matrix included in the information packet you will receive in January. The Payroll & Employee Benefits website provides information about eligible dependents definitions. Who will be included in the audit? Employees who are covering dependent(s) in the health and/or dental plans will be included in the audit. How does someone comply? Depending upon your specific circumstances, you may need to complete a questionnaire and provide the appropriate documents to Continuous Health. Some of the appropriate documents may include: Marriage - marriage certificate and other documents such as a joint household bill, joint bank/credit account, joint mortgage or lease, or front page of 2011 jointly filed federal tax return (with blacked out financial information) or front page of both individually filed federal tax returns both showing common current address. Children - birth certificates, possibly adult child affidavits or full-time student verification (if relevant) or adoption decrees. Step-children - same as children plus proof of marriage for parent/step-parent.Documents may not be returned to Payroll & Employee Benefits. What happens if I don't respond? It is important that you follow the instructions in the packet you will receive and respond with the required documentation by the due date to prevent your dependents from losing coverage upon conclusion of the audit. How do I know my data is secure? Data is secure. Learn more details at ContinuousHealth's Security Information page. Who determines eligibility? Auburn actually decides eligibility, not ContinuousHealth. ContinuousHealth simply conducts the audit and supplies Auburn University with the summary data. Can I remove my ineligible dependents before the audit? Yes. An amnesty period is a designated time before the audit during which faculty and staff can voluntarily remove dependents who do not meet the dependent eligibility requirements. Open Enrollment, which runs from November 1-30, 2012, will offer an amnesty period to give employees the opportunity to remove ineligible dependents.
|
Payroll & Employee Benefits
212 Ingram Hall Auburn University, AL 36849 Phone 334-844-4183 Fax 334-844-1799
212 Ingram Hall Auburn University, AL 36849 Phone 334-844-4183 Fax 334-844-1799