Auditing Health-Plan Eligibility

As health-care costs continue to climb, companies are desperately looking for anything that will help them control those expenses. One tack that a growing number of businesses are taking is to conduct an audit verifying that all employee dependents insured under the health-benefits plan are actually eligible to receive that coverage. When Ford Motor Co. conducted a dependent eligibility audit, it reportedly discovered that it was insuring more than 50,000 ineligible dependents. When you consider that each covered dependent can cost a company $2,000 or more annually, that's a substantial hit. It is not surprising that many other companies are following in Ford's footsteps.

"Given the cost stresses they are under, companies are looking for any way to save money without affecting the workforce directly," says Mark Rucci, senior vice president with Apex Management Group, a health-care and actuarial consulting firm in Princeton, N.J. "Auditing helps make sure that there is no leakage in the system, so companies don't have to go back to employees for more money as health-care costs increase."