WKU News

Announcing The Health Insurance Dependent Eligibility Audit begining January 26, 2026.

Western Kentucky University will be conducting a health insurance dependent eligibility audit beginning in January 2026. The audit is mandatory for all employees with covered dependents on the health insurance plan. Here’s a checklist of things you should do to get ready to complete this project. You should...

Understand what it is ─ and why we are doing it

− A dependent eligibility verification audit is a thorough and careful examination of an employer’s health plan. Its goal is to identify and remove enrolled dependent spouses and children who do not meet the health plan’s eligibility rules for continuing coverage. Why are we doing this?

− National statistics show that each ineligible dependent costs the plan’s members an average of $5,000 per year. And that can mean higher premiums and fewer benefits for all eligible employees and their families. Eliminating these wasted dollars will help control our healthcare costs ̶ and save you money as well.

Learn how it will work

− First, you will go to our dependent eligibility website and identify your current spouse and child relationships. This process takes less than 10 minutes. If you don’t have Internet access, you can call our Eligibility Center and provide your information to a Customer Care representative.

− Second, you will submit official, legal documents that verify the statements you make online. When you finish your online questionnaire, the website will tell you what documents you have to submit ─ and how to submit them. It’s a convenient, easy process.

Gather your verification documents now

− If you don’t have official documents on hand, please take the time right now to request them from the appropriate state or county records departments. Sometimes it takes a while to get them. And you don’t want to stress about it or miss the deadlines.

− Typically, the required documents are birth certificates for your biological or adopted children, your marriage certificate and/or current income tax forms, and other court documents showing child custody or guardianship. Please be sure to redact any SSN, account numbers and financial information from any documents you submit.

Review your covered dependents during open enrollment

Your Open Enrollment this year is October 13, 2025 – October 24, 2025 and has two purposes. First, to allow you to add dependents, or to make benefit changes. Second, to give you a chance to remove any dependents that you know are not eligible for health coverage. The eligibility rules are posted on the WKU website, Department of Human Resources (wku.edu/hr > Benefits > Employee Wellness & Benefits > Eligibility).

Our goal with this early announcement is to give you plenty of time to prepare for the dependent eligibility verification audit coming in January 2026. That means you’ve got time to (1) gather your verification documents right away, and (2) use the open enrollment to remove any dependents you know are ineligible. The full Dependent Eligibility Audit information will be mailed to your home address in January, 2026. It will contain all the instructions you need to complete the verification of your dependents.

The dependent eligibility audit begins January 26, 2026