Spouse/Dependent documentation in order to enroll in medical insurance?

[rafiki]

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[Pamela H in Texas]

goodness! I just enrolled in benefits several weeks ago. Nothing of that sort was asked for.

 

My guess is that this employer is seeing lots of fraud which is costly to them....

[Georgia On My Mind]

Yes, just a year ago my husband had an insurance change with his employer and we went through the same thing. We have been married so long we couldn't find our marriage certificate and couldn't remember ever having to provide it for anything. We had to send off for one from the state in which we were married. This actually prolonged my being covered under his insurance for literally months and he spent hours on the phone and much time getting all the documentation required. It apparently is new standard procedure for health insurance companies. Very scary how much information is available to everyone about us now.

[Carrie12345]

We've gone though many, many enrollments (but not in the past year and a half or so), and have never been asked for more than ss numbers- not even the actual cards.

 

Which is good, b/c I don't have bc copies for 3 of the kids, and I'm missing the oldest's ss card. :tongue_smilie:

[plansrme]

I am an employee benefits lawyer and have many clients who are doing exactly this. It is indeed to root out fraudulently-enrolled "spouses" and "dependents." You would be shocked at how many people (1) divorce but never tell the employer, so the employer covers the ex-spouse forever (this is why the employer requests the marriage license and proof that you still married, i.e., the bill in both your names); (2) put down their sisters, nieces, nephews, step-children (when steps are not eligible, sometimes they are), etc., as their children; or (3) list their live-in significant other as a spouse.

 

The SSN is another matter: you can thank your federal government for this one, as health plans are now required to submit to Medicare/Medicaid the SSNs on every covered individual under their plans, so that Medicaid (usually) can identify cases in which they are paying claims on someone who is also covered under an employer's health plan. The goal is to identify cases in which Medicaid should not be paying primary.

 

Terri

[mysticamethyst]

My hubby has to do it every other year at his company to make sure nothing has changed with family status. I can understand why, so many steal from the insurance companies they have to do what they can to stop it.

[Heather in AL]

Have the rules changed? I was helping dh fill out his paperwork last night for medical insurance through his new employer. In order to cover spouse and dependents it asks for:

 

copy of our marriage certificate

copy of my ss card

copy of last year's tax return

copy of recent bill in both of our names

 

for the kids it wants:

copy of birth certificate

copy of ss card

 

This seems very excessive and is quite personal info.

 

I agree that it is excessive and personal. I also understand why they are asking (but I don't agree with them doing so!).

 

I would have the most problem providing the bill in both of our names~~~ we don't have one that has both of our names on it.

 

Very scary how much information is available to everyone about us now.

 

:iagree::iagree: I need a super emphatic smiley to agree with this! I *despise* how much personal info is out there!!

[sonsmama]

Yup! Our employer had us provide that information last year.

[EarleneW]

We just had to provide this too.

[Samiam]

I guess it depends on the insurance company.

 

I worked for BCBS in FL (each state BCBS is it's own company, it is just a franchise name), and I worked in the Enrollment dept. I mean, I actually looked at all new applications for employees of big companies, and entered them into the system. Now this was four years ago, so things could have changed, but knowing BCBSFL, I doubt it.

 

We did not ask for any of that. As a matter of fact, per federal law, you do NOT have to provide a SSN to any insurance company. Now that can make claims get messed up, etc as most medical offices tie the SSN to the insurance, and then we don't have it, etc etc. Anyhoo, but no, we didn't ask for any of that. And there was some suspicious things on applications too, but we just took them by their word. The only thing we ever asked additional was proof of student enrollment for the college age dependents.

[Dawn in OH]

The copy of the marriage certificate should be enough honestly.

 

In our home, we don't even have a bill with both our names on it. The only thing we have with both our names on it is our checking account.

[Renee in NC]

The copy of the marriage certificate should be enough honestly.

 

In our home, we don't even have a bill with both our names on it. The only thing we have with both our names on it is our checking account.

 

Then your bank statement would show both names - I bet that would work. We don't have anything in both names, either. I am really surprised we didn't get asked when dh enrolled all of us!:lol:

[AngieW in Texas]

We had to provide all of that last year.

[plansrme]

As a matter of fact, per federal law, you do NOT have to provide a SSN to any insurance company. Now that can make claims get messed up, etc as most medical offices tie the SSN to the insurance, and then we don't have it, etc etc. Anyhoo, but no, we didn't ask for any of that. And there was some suspicious things on applications too, but we just took them by their word. The only thing we ever asked additional was proof of student enrollment for the college age dependents.

 

That was then; this is now. The requirement to provide SSNs is only about a year old. Google "Section 111 reporting to CMS" for more info., though most of what's floating around on the internet makes it look as if the health plans only have to report information on Medicare/Medicaid beneficiaries; the problem is that they have no way of knowing whether a dependent is eligible for Medicare, so they report everybody and let CMS sort it out. Insurance companies cannot use the SSN as your member ID, but they can certainly collect it and report it to HMS.

 

Also, dependent audits, and the firms promoting them, are also relatively new. I had never had a client perform one until about 2 years ago, and now I would say that most of my clients have or are planning to conduct one. And they do find a lot of noncompliance.

 

Terri

[vonfirmath]

I agree that it is excessive and personal. I also understand why they are asking (but I don't agree with them doing so!).

 

I would have the most problem providing the bill in both of our names~~~ we don't have one that has both of our names on it.

 

We don't either. How do you go about getting a bill in two names? How many people have bills in two names?

[abbeyej]

We were recently asked for similar information. Dh had not changed employers, nor had the insurance provider changed, though the plan adjusts annually.

[rafiki]

.

[JoyfulMama]

The SSN is another matter: you can thank your federal government for this one, as health plans are now required to submit to Medicare/Medicaid the SSNs on every covered individual under their plans, so that Medicaid (usually) can identify cases in which they are paying claims on someone who is also covered under an employer's health plan. The goal is to identify cases in which Medicaid should not be paying primary.

 

Terri

 

Thank you for sharing this information! We recently chose a local doctor, and they politely told me that if I was uncomfortable providing the SSNs for my children, which they stated they are required to submit to the insurance company for verification of identity, then I would be best to contact another physician office.

 

ETA:

When dh started this job we had to provide copies of marriage and birth certs, but just the ss numbers, not the cards.

[mysticamethyst]

That was then; this is now. The requirement to provide SSNs is only about a year old. Google "Section 111 reporting to CMS" for more info., though most of what's floating around on the internet makes it look as if the health plans only have to report information on Medicare/Medicaid beneficiaries; the problem is that they have no way of knowing whether a dependent is eligible for Medicare, so they report everybody and let CMS sort it out. Insurance companies cannot use the SSN as your member ID, but they can certainly collect it and report it to HMS.

 

Also, dependent audits, and the firms promoting them, are also relatively new. I had never had a client perform one until about 2 years ago, and now I would say that most of my clients have or are planning to conduct one. And they do find a lot of noncompliance.

 

Terri

 

Sorry don't know how to just quote the one sentence. But they have made my DH ssn our member number much to my dislike was told by them too bad it is what it is. So, thank you I am going to argue back now and have something to go with.