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Revision 12-2; Effective June 1, 2012
Situations may arise when a person is erroneously assigned more than one client/individual number or when two or more people are assigned the same client/individual number. Eligibility specialists must resolve the situation by requesting the client/individual numbers be merged or separated, depending on the situation.
Staff use the TIERS functional area on the left navigation bar named Merge/Separate to request a merge or separate and the following procedures.
Merge
Use Request Merge when more than one Individual number has been assigned to a single person.
- Enter a minimum of two, up to 10 Individual numbers to be merged and enter the mandatory comments explaining the reason for the merge request.
- Upon entry of the Individual number in the Individual number field and clicking on the Add button, the demographic information associated with that Individual number will be displayed in the Selected Individuals section. If it is not the correct person, delete the entry using the delete icon or use the binoculars icon to search for the individual using demographic data. This is similar to the individual search in Inquiry.
- Once all of the Individual numbers and mandatory comments are entered, click the Submit button to send the request to Data Integrity.
Separate
Use Request Separate when more than one person is assigned to a single Individual number.
- Enter one Shared Individual number and up to three Individual numbers to be separated. Enter mandatory comments explaining the reason for the separate request.
- Upon entry of the Individual number in the Shared Individual number field or demographic information and clicking on the Add button, the demographic information associated with that Individual number will be displayed in the Selected Shared Individuals and Shared ID above is to be separated to these individuals sections if it is not the correct person. Delete that entry using the delete icon or use the binoculars icon to search for the individual using demographic data, similar to the individual search in Inquiry.
- Once all of the Individual numbers and mandatory comments are entered, click the Submit button to send the request to Data Integrity.
When the eligibility specialist enters an Individual number that already exists on a merge or separate request, it cannot be requested again and a validation message will be displayed. When TIERS displays a validation message, staff must either correct the information, if entered incorrectly, or use Search Merge/Separate to determine if the Individual number(s) on the request are associated with the same Individual number.
Tracking Progress
Use Search Merge/Separate to track the progress of the request. Some requests will take longer than others. This may occur when the Individual received MEPD coverage in addition to the Texas Works benefits they receive in TIERS. These requests are placed on hold until the request can be processed in TIERS.
Data Integrity staff can mark an Individual number as a potential duplicate (PD) when a merge or separate request is made. Staff cannot select an Individual number for addition to new cases if it is marked as PD, which limits the potential for the wrong Individual number to be awarded benefits or coverage in error.
Questions about a merge or separate request should be sent to the Data Integrity mailbox at tiers_statepaidmedicaid@hhsc.state.tx.us