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2009 Dependent Eligibility Audit News
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Recent Health Plan Enrollment, Cost Containment, and Dependent Eligibility News:
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August 1, 2009 »Dependent Audits Surge as Employers Looks for Cost Cutting Alternatives
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 swoop by conducting dependent eligibility audits.
Employers conducting such audits generally realize 3% to 12% of covered dependents are not eligible for their plan. . .read article |
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June 1, 2009 »
Secret weapon: 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 armory.
But what if the most effective weapon was well within their reach, but wasn’t being used? Many employers have found that dependent eligibility audits can dramatically reduce their health care costs. Brokers who understand how dependent eligibility audits work, and how to discuss them with their clients, have a rare opportunity to strengthen their relationships and possibly gain new customers. Read article |
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April 21, 2009 » Number of Health Plan Dependent Audits on the Rise
The immediate and long-term savings gained from health plan dependent eligibility audits and one company is seeing a significant increase in requests for these audits. “Health plan dependent eligibility audits allow plan sponsors to identify ineligible dependents and then take action to ensure that only those dependents eligible for benefits are enrolled in a given plan. Particularly, with so many companies looking to cut costs any way they can, more and more are coming around to the fact that monitoring dependent coverage equates to sound financial management,”. . . read article |
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April 10, 2009 » Employers Scrutinizing Health Plan Dependent Eligibility
With employers looking to save money on health benefits, more and more companies are turning to health plan dependent eligibility audits, according to a recent survey. “Plan sponsors have a fiduciary duty to administer their health plan in the interest of eligible participants and their eligible dependents, known as the ‘exclusive benefit rule,’... Read article (requires free registration) |
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March 25, 2009 » Employers getting more strict on health-care eligibility
Facing a difficult economy and running short of ways to reduce health-care costs, employers are becoming more aggressive about checking the eligibility of their workers' dependents. "Employers are considering, and implementing, dependent eligibility audits to assure that they are providing benefits to only qualified dependents and are not paying benefits for people who are not eligible,"
Read article |
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March 13, 2009 » Large U.S. Companies Confident They Will Offer Health Benefits in 10 Years
This year, 61% of companies will conduct dependent audits. “The track record of these performers clearly demonstrates that by taking a specific course of action it is possible to successfully control health-care costs,” said Helen Darling, president of the National Business Group on Health. “By building employee accountability for health care now, employers will be better positioned to weather the financial storm and to address potential health-care reform on the horizon.” read article |
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June 2008 »
Dependent audits gain steam
EMPLOYERS looking for new ways to cut health care costs have a new weapon in their arsenal. Actually, the weapon is not new, but its implementation has picked up steam in recent years. Dependent audits are growing in popularity, according to a story in the Baltimore Sun, as a way to skim ineligible dependents off the health care rolls. Companies are requiring employees to produce marriage certificates, birth certificates, college transcripts and more to verify a dependent’s eligibility to be on the plan. Read article |
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June 2007 » Trim the fat, keep the meat: Finding the ROI in health plan audits
The most significant savings opportunity for employers using audits is in eligibility, discounts and care management. Read article |
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RealLife HR Recommends Cost-Savings Tool: Dependent Eligibility Audit
Many companies are now turning to dependent eligibility audits to effectively qualify the benefits they provide to their employees and their dependents. The results of these audits can be staggering – potentially saving a company with 5,000 employees and 9,000 + dependents over $500,000 the first year!
In addition, such an audit would enable compliance under Sarbanes Oxley and ensure you have the adequate financial controls in place. Without this audit and ongoing controls, most companies are unaware of how much they’re actually spending on ineligible dependents. read article |
>> Calculate your Cost Savings using the Dependent Eligibility Audit ROI Calculator
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