Dependent Verification FAQs

The goal is to ensure our plans only cover those who are eligible for coverage, in order to comply with legal requirements.

The verification period is between January 13 and February 28, 2025. Employees can prepare ahead of time by gathering the necessary documents.You will not be able to submit documents until January 13, 2025.

The verification process includes dependents enrolled on the following Pinellas County benefit plans:

• Medical (includes medical, vision, prescription, and behavioral/mental health)
• Dental
• Dependent life insurance

Impact Interactive is an independent healthcare auditing firm handling the verification process. During the verification period from January 13 to February 28, 2025, you will go to Impact Interactive’s website to answer questions about your dependents and submit documents to verify eligibility such as a child’s birth certificate. We will provide detailed instructions later.

• Now to January 2025: Gather the necessary documents for your dependents on the County medical, dental and/or dependent life insurance.
• January 13 – February 28, 2025: Go to Impact Interactive’s website to answer questions about your dependents and submit documents to verify eligibility. We will provide detailed instructions later.

Yes. Upload documents to the Impact Interactive site by logging in with a secure registration code (details to come). Impact Interactive’s website provides the highest level of encryption techniques and secure transfer protocols. Impact Interactive will not sell or share information about you or your dependents.

For additional security, before uploading documents, make a copy of the original document and mark out any sensitive information such as Social Security numbers, account numbers, and financial information. For example, on your tax form, you can mark out all items except name, address, and filing status.

When the verification is complete, Impact Interactive will securely transmit the encrypted documents to Employee Benefits. No one outside of this group will have access to the information. 

Dependents who are eligible to be covered on your medical, dental, or dependent life insurance plan include your:

• Husband or wife (including those who are not living together)
• Domestic partner (see the Affidavit definition) – eligible for medical or dental coverage, not eligible for dependent life insurance
• Children (biological, adopted, stepchildren, foster, grandchild, brother/sister, niece/nephew, etc.) for whom you are financially responsible and have court-ordered custody, or are the legal guardian, up to end of the calendar year in which they turn 26 for medical, 25 for dental, and the day before their 26th birthday for dependent life.
• Over-age dependent (medical coverage): After the end of the calendar year in which your dependent turns age 26, through the end of the calendar year in which they turn 30, if they are unmarried, have no dependents, are a resident of Florida or a student, and have no other medical coverage.
• Adult child with a disability

Those who are not eligible to be your dependents include:

• Parents
• Child for whom you are not financially responsible and do not have court-ordered custody or legal guardianship
• Child over the age of 30 who does not have a disability
• Girlfriend/boyfriend who is not your domestic partner
• Ex-spouse
• Another County employee

• Example 1: Your divorce was final last month, and you forgot to remove your ex-spouse from your dental plan. They are not eligible as you are no longer legally married.
• Example 2: Your roommate is on your dental plan. They are not eligible as they are not your spouse or domestic partner.
• Example 3: Your sister lost her health insurance, so you’ve been covering your niece and nephew on your medical plan. They are not eligible as they are not your legal dependents.

This is not recognized in Florida. Submit a completed Affidavit of Domestic Partnership. 

If you were married within the last 12 months, you may submit your marriage certificate only. 

Your spouse does not need to live with you to be an eligible dependent, but you need to still be legally married. See Dependent Verification Documents for the required documents.

Your divorced ex-spouse is not an eligible dependent for benefits coverage, even if there is a court order mandating coverage. COBRA is available.

• Dependents are those who you are covering on your medical/dental/dependent life insurance plan. These are the only names you need to review for this verification.
• Beneficiaries are those who will receive the proceeds of your life insurance should you pass away. There are no rules regarding eligibility of beneficiaries; you can select anyone you choose.  
• Contacts are people you would want Human Resources to contact in the event of an emergency. Contacts can also be a dependent and/or beneficiary.

You will receive a link to the secure Impact Interactive website and detailed instructions before the verification period begins. Basically, you will go to Impact Interactive’s website to answer questions about your dependents and submit documents to verify eligibility such as a child’s birth certificate, or the first page of your 2023 or 2024 tax return for a spouse.

If you don’t have access to a computer, you can use a smartphone or call Impact Interactive at (866) 691-6551 to provide your information to a representative from Monday to Thursday, 8 am to 7 pm, and Friday, 8 am to 5 pm.

See Dependent Verification Documents for a list of required documents and tips on where to find them.

No. You only need to provide the first page with name and address information. First, make a copy of the document and remove all financial information, account numbers, and Social Security numbers. You can use a thick marker or white out pen to remove the information. For example, on your tax form, you can mark out all personal information except your name, address, and filing status.

The easiest method is to upload the documents to the Impact Interactive website, but if that is not possible, you can email, fax, or mail your documents. You will receive all the details including the website address prior to the January 13 start date.

No. The goal of the verification is to verify the dependents you listed in EBS (OPUS) as of January 2025.  

No. Documents must be submitted to Impact Interactive during the verification period of January 13 to February 28, 2025.

Yes. The verification is a separate process handled by an independent auditing firm so all documents must be submitted to Impact Interactive.

Once you submit your documents, allow 3 business days for processing (or 7 to 10 days if you use regular mail). You will then receive an email or text message (depending which you select) confirming your successful completion of the Dependent Verification process or a request for additional documentation. If your dependent(s) are not eligible, Impact Interactive will notify you by letter to your home address in March and your dependents will be removed from County benefits coverage.

If you do not verify your dependents’ eligibility for coverage by submitting the necessary documents, you will be notified that your dependents will be removed from the medical, dental, and/or dependent life insurance plan and will no longer have coverage.

If you realize before January 13 that you are covering a dependent who is not eligible on your 2025 medical, dental, or dependent life insurance plans, please contact Employee Benefits at employee.benefits@pinellas.gov or by phone at (727) 464-3367, option 1.

If it is determined during the verification period (January 13 to February 28) that you have an ineligible dependent, Impact Interactive will notify you in a letter mailed to your home that your dependent will be removed from the medical, dental, and/or dependent life insurance plan and will no longer have coverage.

Contact FEDlogic which can help employees navigate federal and state benefits. The service is confidential and free to employees and your household members.

No. COBRA refers to continuing medical or dental benefits if you lose group plan coverage and this is not an option for a dependent who is deemed ineligible for County benefits coverage. The exception would be if your dependent is no longer eligible due to a qualifying event within the past 60 days. In that case, notify Benefits at (727) 464-3367, option 1 or by email. 

As of November 1, 2024, all new hires plus current employees who change coverage due to a qualifying event (such as marriage, birth, divorce) will be required to provide verification documents for dependents.

This will not be an annual process, but the County reserves the right to require verification in the future. All new employees and those adding a new dependent will be asked to submit documentation for that dependent.

Call Impact Interactive at (866) 691-6551 Monday – Thursday 8 am to 7 pm and Friday 8 am to 5 pm.