The woes of the Hawaii Employer-Union Health Benefits Trust Fund keep expanding.
Last week was the letter describing the ballooning backlog that could prevent timely verification of health insurance by the beginning of 2010.
Now comes a fat packet of papers for a newly required “Dependent Eligibility Verification”.
In what is described as a cost-saving measure, EUTF has contracted with two companies to verify eligible dependents, and anyone who doesn’t submit the required paperwork by December 31 will have their dependents’ coverage cancelled retroactive to October 16.
This packet claims other systems have saved an average of 9-13% by completing this kind of rigorous verification.
I’m personally involved since this un-or-under employed blogger is covered by the health insurance that Meda qualifies for as an employee of the University of Hawaii.
So getting this right is important.
This is the second round of similar paperwork. I looked through the first packet and set it aside because it did not appear to apply to spouses, only to other types of dependents.
This time around, though, public employees are informed that they must provide proof for their eligible spouse, either by submitting a 2008 tax return, or via a marriage certificate PLUS proof of joint property ownership/lease or a utility bill listing the employee and spouse.
Then come the instructions.
Required documents for verification
Page 1 and signature page of employee-beneficiary’s 2008 Federal Income Tax Return as filed with the IRS, listing the spouse as dependent….
Whoa, Big Guy. Our 1040 won’t list me as dependent. The tax form doesn’t work that way for couples filing jointly. We’re just shown as a married couple filing jointly.
Did anybody over at EUTF proofread these instructions?
First I followed instructions to access the secured Dependent Eligibility Verification website.
Oops. The access screen asked for “employee number”. Employee number? What’s that? I enter Meda’s social security number. Rejected. I try formatting it, xxx-xx-xxxx. Wrong again. No “special characters” allowed.
I suppose there may be some fine print number on the payroll receipt she receives twice a month, but it’s not a number anyone has ever referred to. So forget the online system.
Next stop–the telephone hotline number provided. Luckily, there wasn’t a long wait. I explained the “problem” and was told to just disregard the written instructions. A joint return is sufficient, according to the hotline staffer. Then why didn’t these extensive and very expensive instructions simply say that?
It leaves me very anxious that I’ll be stripped of insurance at some future date because, in fact, the tax return does not list me as a dependent. And didn’t you read the instructions, Mr. Lind? Weren’t they clear? When that happens, will I be able to cite this blog post as evidence of the advice I was given by the hotline staff?
Or do I need to track down our 40-year old marriage certificate? Won’t that be fun? And it would be the very first time in four decades that anyone has asked to see a copy.
And for us old married folks, the paperwork requirement is minimal. I pity folks with kids, especially adopted children, stepchildren, foster children, college students, etc. They’ll have to jump through a lot more hoops to get the required paperwork to prove that those children are eligible for insurance coverage. And kids born outside the country? How long do you think the State Department will take to certify a foreign birth, if the original paperwork has been lost?
You just know this is not going to turn out well for a lot of public employees whose personal lives are more complicated than my own.
Auwe!
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here’s where it gets even loonier: I am in a domestic partnership and have a legal, notarized State of Hawaii EUTF DECLARATION OF DOMESTIC PARTNERSHIP (had to use an attorney at personal cost to get it). This legal declaration written expressly for the EUTF has been in effect for over six years — and IT IS NOT AN ACCEPTABLE verification of a legal domestic partnership for EUTF. The rep from SECOVA (who was very nice, btw) — an out sourced company from New Jersey hired to police verifications — said that they could not accept this legal document not because of their rules, but per the State of Hawaii EUTF! I don’t think you could make this stuff up….
When that initial letter (not the packet which arrived later) was provided to the legislators, I contacted the company contracted to provide the information. The person I spoke with didn’t have a clue and thought I had already received a notice with all the instructions about what was needed. My question had to do with some of the vague statements in the letter about how to provide documentary proof regarding my dependents. The person assured me that based on the situations I described, my dependents should be covered.
Now that I have the second packet I did notice — you point out –that since my spouse and I filed a joint return, I can’t use our 2008 tax return to comply with the verification request (although I suppose it works for my other claimed dependent). Go figure.
I also have a child dependent requesting a letter from the registrar of her college to verify she’s enrolled fulltime and in good standing. Hope the letter gets here in time to submit to SECOVA.
Ian, I had the same heart in my throat moment when I realized the tax form does not list me as a dependent. The rep at Secova was very nice and said that the 1040 and signature page would be sufficient. I certainly hope so!
More proof universal healthcare would save tons of money currently squandered on paperwork, bureaucracy, verification, forms in triplicate, denial of coverage, etc. etc. etc. The standard claim is 40% of the $2.6 trillion we spend on healthcare is wasted on paper shuffling–and who knows how much on Medicare fraud, needless procedures and tests, etc.
Just for those who aren’t self-employed–we (wife and I, both 55 or over) pay $12,000 a year for stripped/basic Kaiser coverage with a $50 co-pay. That’s the “real world” cost of minimal coverage.
I asked why they needed my wife’s social security number and what happens to it after verification process is completed. Was assured that everything is shredded. Hope so. Sent marriage certificate copy and real property tax bill copy with both our names on it. Should be sufficient. What our income may be really none of their business!
Yes, this is a mess in so many ways. One wonders about the cost / benefits and hopes that the trustees did a sensible assessment. But my guess is that the only cost they considered was the cost of the outsourced service, not the sum cost of all the state’s employee’ and retirees having to spend between 30 minutes if all is smooth, to hours if there are bumps to be worked out.
And in the meanwhile, we can only hope this company is good for its privacy practices since a stunning amount of private information will be presented to them.
Auwe, indeed!
If you need a copy of your marriage certificate and it was issued in Hawaii, you can order vital records from DOH: http://hawaii.gov/health/vital-records/vital-records/vital_records.html
Thank you for all your coverage of the messes with EUTF. I hadn’t checked our mail recently so when I saw this post, I knew exactly what to be on the lookout for.
Additionally, there is the whole privacy issue of why your health care provider can demand to see your completed 1040, and what they’re going to do with it.
They do advise blacking out financial information on the form.
singlepayersinglepayersinglepayer!
It’s even more fun if you’re a [insert-adjective-of-choice] woman who did not change her name when married, and thereby has a different last name from her spouse AND children. We’ve had to submit proof of dependancy EVERY year for the past 3 years (private co insurance and RCUH). At least now we have all our paperwork handy…
I guess I kind of understand why they ask for it. But my family is constantly targeted because we don’t fit the ‘norm’, and I find it insulting.