As the plan fiduciary, the University is legally and ethically required to comply with benefit plan rules while acting in the best interest of all employees. This ultimately translates to a compliant, financially sustainable plan at the lowest possible premium amounts. Additionally, most companies who have completed eligibility verification projects have found between 3% - 15% of the dependents covered were not eligible for coverage.

Beginning in early March you will receive a verification packet from UnifyHR, a WEX company, at your home address that will include instructions for completing the verification process. You may be asked to provide a copy of your government issued vital records such as a marriage certificate, birth certificates, prior year federal tax return, court-ordered custody agreement, and other types of documents that may be used to verify the eligibility of your dependent(s). When submitting your documents to UnifyHR, please be sure you always submit copies of your documents; you should never submit original documents to UnifyHR and sensitive information such as social security numbers should be blacked out.

Generally, your legal spouse, including common law, and children under the age of 26 are eligible for coverage. Older children may also be eligible in some cases. If you have any questions, UnifyHR can help you determine if the individuals you are covering under the plan are eligible for coverage.

If the documentation you submit is insufficient, you will be notified by UnifyHR, and you will be given the opportunity to provide additional documentation. You must provide the additional documentation prior to the deadline that will be provided.

Yes. If you believe you have an ineligible dependent currently enrolled on the plan, you may remove that person from coverage during annual enrollment. You can also remove ineligible dependents during the verification process through UnifyHR.

If you remove the ineligible dependent before the deadline, no questions will be asked. Premiums will not be repaid, and repayment of employer contributed premiums or paid claims will not be required. Nor will we seek further disciplinary action. 

If you do not remove an ineligible dependent before the deadline and it is uncovered during this verification process, we reserve the right to seek repayment of premiums and paid claims or take further disciplinary action.

Copies of birth certificates and other personal vital records can only be obtained from the state in which they were originally filed. Some resources for obtaining documents:
•    National Center for Health Statistics through the Centers for Disease Control – Information for all states can be found at http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/w2w.htm.
•    U.S. Department of State – A Consular Report of Birth can be obtained by writing to the U.S. Department of State for individuals born abroad to U.S. citizen parents. Visit http://www.state.gov/ for more information.

UnifyHR understands the importance of protecting your sensitive information. In addition to asking that all sensitive information such as social security numbers, account numbers, and monetary values be blacked out on documents submitted the environment in which your data is housed is encrypted and all server logs, firewall logs, and database performance are monitored on a regular and recurring basis. Finally, the UnifyHR applications are audited by a third party on an annual basis to ensure controls are adequate in safeguarding your data.

All employees who cover dependents under the benefits plan are required to respond. If you do not provide documentation that verifies the eligibility of your dependent(s), their coverage will be canceled.

All employee documentation submitted during this process, both hard and soft copy, will remain protected throughout the process and destroyed within 90 days after completion of the verification process.