Payroll and Employee Benifits

Working Spouse/Same Sex Domestic Partner (SSDP) Audit

As part of the health care initiatives announced during Open Enrollment for Fiscal Year 2013, the University has begun two audits:  1) a Dependent Eligibility Audit; and 2) a Working Spouse/Same Sex Domestic Partner (SSDP) Audit.  As healthcare costs continue to increase at rates exceeding ordinary inflation, employers (including institutions of higher education), are increasingly using these types of audits to help control costs and ensure the continued viability of their insurance programs.

Both of these audits will begin on October 8, 2012 with a completion deadline of November 21, 2012.  Ball State University has retained the services of HMS Employer Solutions (HMS), an independent audit firm, to perform these audits on our behalf.  HMS specializes in delivering these types of audit services to private and public self-insured employers of all sizes, including Fortune 500 companies, school districts, hospitals and universities such as the University of Michigan, the University of Akron and the University System of Georgia, to name but a few.

Effective January 1, 2013, if your spouse/SSDP is:

  • working full time, and;
  • his or her employer offers group health care coverage, and;
  • the employer funds at least 60 percent of the coverage,

you cannot cover your spouse/SSDP as a dependent unless he or she is also enrolled in their employer's group health plan.  The Working Spouse/SSDP audit will verify coverage eligibility for working spouses/SSDPs in accordance with this new plan provision.  All employees currently covering their spouse or SSDP must return a completed Working Spouse/SSDP Affidavit.  Failure to return a completed affidavit may result in your spouse/SSDP losing coverage effective December 31, 2012 at midnight.

If you have questions regarding the Working Spouse/SSDP Audit, please contact HMS Employer Solutions Customer Care toll free at 866-252-0635, Monday - Friday, 8:00 AM to 8:00 PM EST.  You can also visit http://www.AuditOS.com to check your status, upload verification documents, and link to resources that will help you obtain required documentation.

Related Links

Letter Announcing Audits from Randy Howard, Vice President of Business Affairs & Treasurer  (PDF)

Working Spouse/SSDP Frequently Asked Questions  (PDF)

Working Spouse Affidavit  (PDF)

Dependent Eligibility Audit