The statewide audit of employees who carry dependents on one or more of the State's group insurance plans is approximately half complete. Employees of the Departments of Agriculture; History, Arts and Libraries; Military and Veterans Affairs; Natural Resources; State Police; Transportation; and Treasury were mailed audit packages on October 20, 2005. These employees must return proof of their dependents' eligibility for benefits by November 21, 2005.

The Department of Corrections (DOC) will be the largest and final departmental audit. The DOC audit will commence in late November 2005.

Once again, we urge you to provide proof of your dependents' eligibility for benefits if you have been requested to do so. Failure to provide documents to substantiate your dependents' eligibility could result in serious consequences. Actions that may be taken include, but are not limited to, the removal of dependents from benefit coverage, recovery of premiums and claims paid for ineligible dependents and, where appropriate, other corrective action. If your dependents are removed due to a lack of response, your next opportunity to enroll eligible dependents during open enrollment will not occur until August 2006, and you will again be required to substantiate the eligibility of any dependents seeking coverage through the various State of Michigan benefit plan offerings.

Information regarding dependent eligibility can be obtained by accessing the Dependent Benefit Audit web page at www.michigan.gov/mdcs under the "Announcements" section. You may also direct any questions you might have to the MI HR Service Center at (877) 766-6447 or TDD (517) 241-8046.