Susie Licht June 1, 2011

HMS Employer Solutions administered a dependent verification audit on behalf of the Non Monroe County Municipal School District Program (NMCMSDP), a consortium responsible for providing benefit coverage for employees and retirees across 38 separate school districts in New York. The final result of the program was an estimated cost savings (based on claim analysis) of $2.2 million for the consortium.

Response to the program was among the highest seen, with 97% of the participants completing the process fully. The audit found 7% of the dependents to be ineligible based on the voluntary termination of the dependents by the participant. Just over 3% of the dependents included in the program were removed due to life events that occurred outside the audit process such as an employee who left the organization or a child aged out.

A Dependent verification program helps employers provide benefit coverage to their eligible dependent population in a more cost effective manner. Based on the results of this program, the NMCMSDP and the 38 school districts can now move forward with knowing their current dependent eligibility is accurate. Now, armed with recommendations for maintaining the results in the future, NMCMSDP can continually check for dependent eligibility with new enrollees.

For additional information by a local New York news service, click the following link: http://www.waynepost.com/latestnews/x447615239/Schools-health-care-costs-audit-saves-millions.