Health Care Dependent Eligibility Verification Assessment
Following best practice guidelines, UToledo is initiating a benefits Verification Assessment for employees who currently participate in UToledo’s health-care plans. Like other Ohio colleges and universities that have conducted similar reviews over the past few years, it ensures that employees are not missing benefits for eligible dependents or paying premiums for dependents they no longer wish to cover. The most recent assessment was back in 2016. UToledo will perform its assessment over the next several weeks.
The Dependent Eligibility Verification Assessment initiative will help to ensure that the health benefit programs offered by The University of Toledo meet the needs of its employees and their eligible dependents. “The dependent eligibility verification assessment is important for the University because it allows us to continue offering our employees competitive, quality benefits that meet their needs and those of their eligible family members,” said Bethany Ziviski, interim associate vice president and chief human resources officer.
The assessment also ensures that the University is properly exercising its fiduciary responsibility in the administration of its self-funded health-care programs and in compliance with eligibility requirements as outlined in the summary plan description documents. To ensure the impartiality of the assessment initiative and the privacy of UToledo employees, the University will use Consova, an independent organization, to collect and review documentation that employees will be required to provide for dependents enrolled in any University-sponsored benefit plan in 2023. Consova is a partner of our purchasing collation.
Acceptable documentation for verification purposes includes a birth certificate (displaying parent names), marriage certificate (showing date of marriage), divorce decree, or other court documents with parents’ names for dependent children or legal guardianship and other forms of supportive documentation to verify current state of relationships. These documents may include joint bills or bank statements with spouse’s name or shared address or redacted prior year 1040 tax returns. UToledo will only receive aggregate data from the assessment initiative and will not have access to the documentation employees provide. At the end of the assessment initiative, documents submitted by UToledo employees will be securely destroyed.
Employees who have employee plus one, or family coverage are strongly encouraged to begin collecting the documentation needed for the eligible dependents they wish to cover. Employees will be asked to provide only copies of acceptable documentation because the papers will not be returned. In early June, employees will receive direct communication from Consova detailing the Dependent Eligibility Verification Assessment process. Communications from Consova will be sent from the following email address: support@consova.com. Notification letters will be sent to employees’ home addresses, so it is important to maintain updated contact information in the myUT portal. Address information can be updated on the employee tab in the portal. The UToledo Benefits webpage will feature news regarding the assessment under the ‘Additional Information’ section. Questions about the dependent eligibility verification assessment should be directed to the University’s Human Resources Benefits office at benefits@utoledo.edu or 419.530.4747.