Dependent Eligibility Verification Audit Starts Next Week UnityPoint Health is proud to offer competitive benefits to our employees. We realize the importance of health insurance benefits, and we continue to manage benefit costs so we can offer competitive, affordable benefits, now and in the future. UnityPoint Health will see health insurance costs increase this year due to fees assessed to employers under the Affordable Care Act (ACA). The ACA helps individuals by providing better, more affordable health insurance. However, the changes required by the ACA will cost UnityPoint Health more than $4 million in new health insurance expenses in 2014. To offset our increased costs, we must find ways to control health insurance expenses. We want to maintain attractive benefits and pass on lower premium increases in future years. One way to control costs is to ensure that all covered dependents are truly eligible to participate in our benefit plans. To do that, UnityPoint Health will conduct a dependent eligibility audit. Aon Hewitt, a third-party firm that specializes in such audits, will send a letter today to every employee who has one or more dependents (spouses/domestic partners and children) enrolled in a UnityPoint Health medical, dental or vision plan. They will ask for documentation to verify eligibility of dependents. Here are several key FAQs to help you respond to the letter: What is a Dependent Eligibility Audit? Employees will be asked to provide documentation to prove their relationship to the dependents enrolled in

their medical, dental and vision plans. Dependent eligibility audits are a common practice for organizations to ensure compliance within their

benefit plans. When Will the Audit Take Place? The dependent eligibility audit period is from late January – April 9, 2014. Who Will Conduct the Audit? Aon Hewitt will conduct the audit. Aon Hewitt has provided dependent eligibility audits for many Fortune 500 companies. They will send letters to employees’ homes to request documentation and provide a hotline for customer support and access to a web portal to check the status of your audit. Aon Hewitt will also ensure your information is kept confidential by utilizing encryption technology to protect sensitive data. In addition, once your documentation is received, it is destroyed to ensure confidentiality. Audit Information Employees with covered dependents on their medical, dental and vision plans will receive letters at their homes from Aon Hewitt starting next week. The letter will provide a list of documentation that can be submitted as proof of eligibility for each type of dependent. Depending on the type of dependent, you may be required to provide more than one document to verify your dependent is eligible. As an example, a spouse requires a state or federal tax return and a marriage certificate to verify eligibility. We are auditing all of our current dependents to ensure we are offering coverage only to those that are eligible. In the future, human resources will request documentation for each dependent added to coverage throughout the year and during open enrollment to ensure we’re proactively verifying eligibility. Examples of Documentation That May Be Requested (not a complete list) State or federal tax returns (within the last two years) showing married filing jointly or married filing

separately (first page only, blacking out social security numbers and financial information) Marriage certificates Birth certificates Divorce decrees

Ineligible Dependents If a dependent is found to be ineligible, they will be dropped from the employee’s plan as of April 30, 2014.

Employees will be notified that their dependent is ineligible through a letter sent to their home from Aon Hewitt.

Employees with employee + spouse, employee + child(ren) or family coverage that have an ineligible dependent removed from a plan causing a change in coverage tiers, will result in the new coverage tier becoming effective May 1, 2014.

Dependents found to be ineligible will not be offered COBRA. COBRA is the ability to continue health insurance after coverage is terminated due to a status change. COBRA is offered only to eligible dependents that terminate from coverage due to a status change.

Non-Responders Employees who choose not to provide documentation for the audit by the April 9, 2014 deadline will have

their covered dependents removed from the plan on April 30, 2014. Appeals Process There will be an appeals process for employees with extenuating circumstances that prevent them from

being able to provide the required documentation within the specified timeline. Employees with special circumstances should contact Aon Hewitt as soon as possible to ensure they are

notified prior to the deadline. More information about the appeals process will be provided in the letters sent to employees’ homes from

Aon Hewitt. If an appeal is denied or if documentation is provided after the deadline, the dependents will be terminated

as of April 30, 2014. If sufficient documentation is provided after the deadline, the dependent can be added to the benefit plans

at open enrollment in 2014 for a January 1, 2015 effective date.

Important To Do’s and Dates

Employee To Do’s Dates First letter sent to employees covering dependents’ homes notifying them of a dependent eligibility audit.

sent January 24th

Employees can remove ineligible dependents by contacting Aon Hewitt.

by February 28th

Letter will be sent to employees requesting documentation for eligible dependents.

sent February 11th

Documentation needs to be sent to Aon Hewitt to prove eligibility for dependents.

by April 9th

Non-responders and ineligible dependent coverage will be terminated.

on April 30th

Once appropriate documentation is sent to Aon Hewitt and approved, a letter will be sent to the employee notifying them that they have successfully completed the audit. Reminder notices and termination notices will only go to employees who have not successfully completed the audit. Employees not providing appropriate documentation within the specified timeline will receive a letter from Aon Hewitt notifying them that their dependents’ coverage will be cancelled. Documentation Required for Dependents Added after February 1, 2014 Employees will be required to provide the same documentation for any dependents added after February 1, 2014 to their Human Resources department. Dependents without the appropriate documentation will not be considered eligible to be enrolled in benefits. Employees will have 30 days from the date the dependent became eligible to provide the documentation. Where can I buy health insurance for my dependents if they are terminated from the UnityPoint health plan?

Iowa Health Insurance Exchange

The deadline to apply for health insurance through the Iowa Health Insurance Exchange has been extended to March 31, 2014.

If your dependent is not eligible for coverage through the UnityPoint Health benefit plans, they can apply for coverage through the exchange through the end of March.

For more information about the coverage available through the Health Insurance Exchange, go to www.healthcare.gov.

Or contact UnityPoint Health to schedule an appointment with a certified application counselor to assist with the application process at 888-275-5235.

America’s Health Plan Consultants

Your dependents can also apply for private health insurance through our voluntary benefits provider, America’s Health Plan Consultants by contacting them at 877-899-5325.

This process is new to UnityPoint Health, but it is an effective and common process used by many organizations to ensure proper enrollment in benefits. Remember, we are self-insured, so all plan participants benefit when we reduce our group costs. By participating in the dependent eligibility audit, you help us provide competitive, affordable benefits.