Thousands face State Group Benefits insurance cutoff

The State Office of Group Benefits is making a final appeal for policyholders to submit required documents to verify their legal relationship to each dependent covered under their insurance plan.

Some 12,000 people who get their insurance through the state’s Office of Group Benefits are facing loss of coverage at month’s end, CEO Tommy D. Teague said.

The people are the unverified dependents of state employees and retirees who have insurance under Group Benefits policies.

Beginning Monday, insurance claims will not be paid on the 12,335 people for whom verification has not been received, Teague said. Coverage will end Dec. 31, he said.

“If they get their documentation in this week, their coverage won’t be canceled and claims won’t be held up,” Teague said.

Plan members can visit the special dependent verification Web page on Group Benefits’ Web site, http://www.groupbenefits.org, which features complete details, a list of documents required for each category of dependent and a compilation of useful resources to obtain certified copies of required legal documents.