Dive Brief:
- The California Public Employees’ Retirement System (CalPERS) says it has saved nearly $122 million by removing members' ineligible dependents from the state's health benefits program.
- During a two-year period from March 2013 and March 2015, a total of more than 18,000 dependents were removed.
- CalPERS says the removals will result in reduced employer health premium contributions and lower healthcare costs due to the reduced claims.
Dive Insight:
CalPERS calls the program a success in ensuring that only eligible dependents remain enrolled, and calls it part of the agency's "ongoing endeavors to help our employers and members manage their healthcare costs."
The project began by notifying members of an amnesty period during which the state's employees and retirees could voluntarily remove dependents who were no longer eligible, such as former spouses and registered domestic partners and their children, and children above age 26. That resulted in 4,851 members removing 6,722 dependents for estimated savings of more than $41.6 million.
It then hired HMS Employer Solutions to perform a nine-cycle eligibility verification process that required members to provide documentation proving their dependents' eligibility for health coverage, which prompted the removal of another 11,560 dependents.
CalPERS plans to implement regulations for documentation requirements for future dependents enrolling in CalPERS health plans.