University of Idaho’s Human Resources department is conducting a dependent eligibility audit — and many faculty and staff need to participate.
“(The audit) is to verify that the dependents that are on the health plan are eligible to be covered on the plan,” said Brandi Terwilliger, director of human resources (HR) at UI. “Their eligible dependence is defined by the plan documents and the health plan. There’s not actually any changes with regard to eligibility, it’s the eligibility criteria that are already set forth in our plan documents.”
Terwilliger said faculty and staff with dependents receiving benefits may be required to verify that their dependents meet the eligibility requirements for said benefits. Those required to participate in the audit were informed on Feb. 25.
“We have contracted with an eligibility administrator vendor in that space in the industry and they are sending out packets to members who need dependents verified,” Terwilliger said. “The individuals will receive a packet that outlines what dependents need verified and it includes what potential documents they would need to submit depending on which dependent needed verified.”
Terwilliger said faculty and staff concerns primarily focused on privacy and security. In response, Terwilliger says HR will be providing limited opportunities to assist faculty and staff members with reviewing and submitting the necessary documents.
“As long as they’re eligible dependents, nothing changes,” Terwilliger said. “If they’re not verified and we don’t get the documents required by IRS guidelines to verify eligibility, then their coverage would be ending as of July first.”
The most recent faculty email on the audit — sent Wednesday, March 27 — explained the IRS “routinely audits plans for compliance with its rules.” That means UI Human Resources must have evidence that the dependents listed on the plan are eligible for benefits. Terwilliger said audits like this are an “industry norm” and not cause for excessive concern.
“We wanted to give people enough time to start preparing for it and getting documents going because we know that can be a challenge sometimes,” Terwilliger said. “After that initial notice, Faculty Senate and Staff Council indicated maybe they had had some discussions with their colleagues, so we met with them to review what those were. We were already working on a second communication to help clarify some of that. That conversation prompted us to add those limited HR hours.”
UI Web Coordinator Robert Hoffman, a staff member who must complete the audit, said he has heard of cases where ineligible people have been covered by benefits, so he understands why the audit must take place.
“For the most part, it’s really just a compliance piece to ensure our plan is compliant and to protect all of the members covered on the plan,” Terwilliger said. “If it’s deemed we have a large number of people that are not eligible to be covered, the cost impact to our members could be substantial. It does put our plan at risk and becomes a taxable plan, where right now it’s not.”
Faculty and staff have until May 3 to return the documents requested by the audit, Terwilliger said. UI HR has provided a document listing answers to frequently asked questions on their website for convenience.
Lex Miller can be reached at [email protected]