Dependent Eligibility Verification

If you fail to complete the verification process, your unverified spouse will be removed from Columbia University’s medical, dental, basic vision, and/or optional vision plans, if enrolled.

Termination of an individual who was not eligible for benefits is not a COBRA qualifying event. If you provide documents by the deadline, but they are incorrect or incomplete, you’ll receive an Insufficient Documentation Letter that explains the reason for incomplete documentation and requests the appropriate documents.

Columbia University’s benefit costs have risen substantially over the last decade. Columbia University’s healthcare costs are one of the largest components of our benefit plans. Employers have a fiduciary duty to monitor plan operations and ensure that plan funds are only authorized for those employees who are eligible for coverage under ERISA.

Copies of marriage certificates and other personal vital records can only be obtained from the state or country in which they were originally filed. Some resources for obtaining documents:

• Your local county office of your marriage.
• National Center for Health Statistics through the Centers for Disease Control — Information for all states can be found at http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/w2w.htm.
• VitalChek — Online provider of vital records at http://www.vitalchek.com.
• Internal Revenue Service — A free transcript of a federal tax return can be obtained by contacting the local IRS office. Local contact information is available at http://www.irs.gov.

Please note: Obtaining records can sometimes take longer than expected and requesting record copies may cost a fee. Request your records in a timely manner (e.g., foreign birth or marriage record).

PHOTOCOPYING VITAL RECORDS. Some states prohibit the photocopying of vital records and include a warning about this on the first pages of applicable documents. Typically, this prohibition does not extend to electronic images. Please print the words “For Administrative Purposes” across the top of the first page of any document you have concerns about providing in either a faxed or electronic format. Do not obscure any of the vital information contained in the document

No. You must pay any costs associated with obtaining or copying acceptable documents.

No. This verification process applies to your spouse covered under the Columbia University medical benefits. However, if your spouse is determined through the process to be ineligible, your spouse will be removed from medical, dental, basic vision, and/or optional vision, if enrolled.

We encourage you to send in all your documentation at the same time. However, if the deadline is approaching, you may submit whatever documentation you have collected. You will receive a letter with a list if you are still missing documents.

If you send copies via U.S. mail or fax, you may check the status online in CUBES within 5 to 7 business days of receipt. A confirmation statement will be mailed to your home within 7 to 10 business days of processing all of your dependents.

If you submit your documentation online, you may confirm delivery and track verification by logging on to CUBES.

Yes. All employee documentation submitted to WTW will remain protected and confidential throughout the process. WTW is a reputable global professional services company, and that’s why we’ve engaged them to conduct the dependent eligibility review.

For additional protection, please black out all financial information as well as any Social Security numbers.

You can upload .jpg, .png, .pdf, and .gif photo files. You can even upload photos of documents taken from a camera or smartphone, as long as they are legible.

The browser must be one of the two most recent major (non-beta) releases of:

• Microsoft Edge
• Google Chrome
• Safari
• Mozilla Firefox

Yes. A normal loss of quality occurs when faxing, sometimes making received faxes difficult to read. This can be especially true when trying to fax a photo ID or other documents that are not black and white or contain small print. To make the document easier to read, try the following:

• Make a black and white copy of the document (if the original is in color).
• Enlarge the document as much as possible while ensuring it is still an 8.5” x 11” copy.
• Change the settings on the fax machine you’re using to the highest resolution available. On most fax machines you can go to Settings > Resolution > Choose “Fine” or “Highest Quality”. See your fax machine’s Owner’s Manual for additional instructions.

If the quality of the copy is still in question, you may upload via the secure website at https://humanresources.columbia.edu/benefits or mail the copy to: WTW Dependent Verification Center, DEPT: CUDRS, P.O. Box 981916, El Paso, TX 79998.

Regardless of the decree, a former spouse is not an eligible dependent for Columbia University benefits. Upon a divorce decree date, a former spouse can continue COBRA coverage for up to 36 months. Removal of a divorced spouse during this dependent verification audit is not a COBRA qualifying event.

Yes. Any foreign language document (including Spanish) will require a professional, notarized translation. A copy of the original document will need to be provided together with the translation. If the name of either party in the document is different, you must include a certified name change petition.

You can either wait until the review is complete and the link appears, this can take 1-2 business days from the time you submitted the documents or call the WTW Service Center at 844-877-8595 and have your account unlocked.