HIGHLAND PARK, Ill., March 31 (UPI) -- More and more U.S. employers are auditing workers' health claims to find some relief from soaring healthcare costs wherever they can.
Procter & Gamble Co., General Motors Corp. and Ford Motor Co. are among a growing number of employers that routinely screen their work forces for ineligible dependents, a practice the companies say has shaken off thousands of people who shouldn't be on their health plans, the Wall Street Journal reported Wednesday.
Other companies are commissioning targeted audits of their high-dollar medical claims to check whether healthcare providers filed them for the proper amounts or patients fulfilled certain medical criteria.
But whatever the tactic, they all blame soaring healthcare costs.
Audit programs often find that between 10 percent and 15 percent of employees had an ineligible dependent on a company health plan, says Michael Watson, vice president at Budco Inc., a Highland Park, Mich., company that helps employers conduct such audits.
"Most people aren't trying to beat the system," he says. "The majority just don't understand the rules."
