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Employers

Employer Bulletin

All Employers
Vol. 16, No. 15
September 28, 1999

Application Processing Instructions Provided For Dual-Choice 2000

The Department of Employe Trust Funds (ETF) has developed special health insurance processing instructions for use during the year 2000 Dual-Choice Enrollment period, October 4-22, 1999. These instructions will help you streamline the processing of Dual-Choice Health Insurance Applications (ET-2301 for state and local government employes; ET-2302 for University of Wisconsin graduate assistants) and Health Insurance Information Change forms (ET-2329) during this busy time of the year.

Please process your Dual-Choice applications for the year 2000 as follows:

  1. Send the Advanced Carrier ply of your Dual-Choice applications on a weekly basis directly to the plans. All Advance Carrier plies must be forwarded to the plans by November 5, 1999. This approach will assist ETF in ensuring that your employes receive their new subscriber cards prior to January 1, 2000.

  2. Send the ETF ply of your Dual-Choice applications on a weekly basis directly to ETF. All ETF plies must be for-warded to ETF by November 5, 1999.

  3. Provide the following information on each Dual-Choice 2000 Health Insurance Application:

    • Coverage Code

    • Carrier Suffix

    • Participant County – This county code represents the county in which your employe resides.

    • Physician County – This county code represents the county in which your employe receives primary care.

    • Payroll Representative Signature

    • Date Received by Employer

    • Date Employment Began – This box can be left blank, or insert the date on which employment began with your entity.

    • Effective Date of Coverage

  4. Separate each type of application form (ET-2301, ET-2302, and ET-2329). Within each form type, separate enrollment type 40 from enrollment type 43. Within enrollment type 40 or 43, separately bundle applications by employe type.

  5. Prepare a cover sheet for each bundle with the following information instead of completing the section "Employer Completes Area Below" on each health insurance form (ET-2301, ET-2302 and ET-2329):

    Type of Application form (indicate one):

    • ET-2301
    • ET-2302
    • ET-2329

    Employe Type
    Enrollment Type - 40 or 43
    Telephone Number
    Name of Employer
    Employer Number
    Group Number

We hope these health insurance application processing instructions will help you accomplish your tasks for Dual-Choice 2000 in a timely and efficient fashion. The year 2000 Health Insurance Reporting forms, Monthly Coverage Reports and Summaries, and further reporting instructions will be sent to you in late November.

Remind Your Employes to contact the plans directly with questions, and provide plans with current mailing addresses.

Employes who request verification or explanation of service area and/or provider availability related to Dual-Choice 2000 must contact the plans directly. In doing so, your employes will receive the most up-to-date information regarding providers or service areas.

PLEASE NOTE: In order to receive information pertinent to the Group Health Insurance Programs administered by ETF, your employes must identify themselves as a State of Wisconsin Plan employe (State and University of Wisconsin employes), or a Wisconsin Public Employer Plan employe (local government or school district employes).

Please remind your employes who participate in the Group Health Insurance plan that they are responsible for providing their current mailing addresses to their respective plans. The plans will take employe address information over the telephone and report any changes to ETF. Plans indicate that they are unable to contact many current subscribers due to incorrect addresses on file. Once mailing addresses are updated, employes will receive provider information in a timely fashion. This includes information related to student status, which will enable dependents to continue their current health insurance.

If you have questions related to Dual-Choice or questions about health insurance eligibility and reporting, please contact the Employer Communication Center at (608) 264-7900.

Local Government Employes and UW Graduate Assistants

The 2000 It's Your Choice booklets for local government employes and UW graduate assistants contain a Health Insurance Application for continuants and annuitants. These applications (ET-2334 in the local government booklet; ET-2332 in the UW graduate assistant booklet) are to be used only by inactive employes and annuitants that pay their health insurance premiums directly to the plan. These applications are not to be used by your active employes.

Active employes must complete the Group Health Insurance Application (ET-2301 for local govern-ment employes; ET-2302 for UW graduate assistants) and submit the applications to you. If an active employe incorrectly completes the application and submits it to you, record the date you received the incorrect application (for deadline filing purposes). Then, have the employe immediately complete the proper application and submit it to you for completion of the employer section and distribution to ETF and the plans.

If one of your employes submits an incorrect application directly to ETF in error, ETF will record the date received and return the incorrect application to you so the appropriate application can be completed to ensure the requested Dual-Choice change is made.

Please direct any questions to the Employer Communication Center at (608) 264-7900.