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Employee Uploads: Understanding and Resolving Errors and Warnings
Employee Uploads: Understanding and Resolving Errors and Warnings

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Ashley Lawrence avatar
Written by Ashley Lawrence
Updated over a week ago

While reviewing an employee upload file, you may encounter errors or warnings. 

What is an error?
An error is the result of invalid or conflicting data that significantly impacts our ability to create or update the patient chart and/or membership.

What is a warning?
A warning is the result of invalid or conflicting data that does not prevent us from creating or updating the patient chart and/or membership. Hint will still process the file row but either:

  • Ignore the invalid data fields (e.g. Hint will still create the patient chart but will not update the email field if the email address is invalid) or

  • Notify you regarding the conflicting data with potential actions (e.g. If we only find out today that a membership was meant to end 3 months ago, we will set a current end date and let you know you can adjust the invoice as you see fit).

This document is meant to provide an overview of the most common error and warning messages and what actions may be taken to resolve errors and warnings.

All Employee Uploads

File Failure

  • A 'failure' means the file has completely failed to process, usually because an unknown column was added or a required column is missing or was renamed. Please update the column headers to match our template.

Row-Level Errors

Contact Hint Support at support@hint.com to help resolve the following errors (or if you come across an error that is not listed here): 

  • Validation failed: Subscriber already has a company account for [Company Name]

  • Next bill date must be after [Date], Bill date can't be before the start date, Bill date can't be set that far in the past

  • Memberships can't restart if plans changed. Previous plan: [plan]

  • [Company name] does not allow custom plans per employee, default plan is [default plan]

  • Pending data match for [Company Name] company

The following errors can generally be managed without contacting Hint, but as always, if you have any trouble please contact us--we’re happy to help!

This patient was marked ineligible by [user email] on [date]. If this was done in error, please mark patient eligible. If this is correct, please contact file provider to remove patient from the file.

  • This error arises when the system tries to enroll an existing patient but they have been marked as ineligible in Hint. 

  • How to Resolve: If this patient should be ineligible, have the file provider remove them from the file. If the employee should be enrolled, mark them eligible and enroll them.

Start date can not be after end date

  • This error arises when a patient's membership has already been billed but the file indicates it was cancelled prior to the start of coverage.

  • How to Resolve: If this information is correct, you can manually terminate the membership and apply any adjustments you see fit. You can also mute the error.

[Name of Column] is required

e.g. First Name is required, Last Name is required, DOB is required, Member type is required, etc...

  • This error arises when a patient has a null or invalid value in a required column.

  • How to Resolve: Ask the file provider to update the possible values based on Hint's restrictions. If you can determine how the patient should be created and enrolled despite the missing information, feel free to do so.

There are multiple possible matches for this row amongst your patients

Can not modify membership for a different registration

  • This error arises when the member is currently enrolled in a pending membership that does not match the pending membership in the file (e.g. start date in Hint is 1/1/2025 but start date in Hint is 2/1/2025).

  • How to Resolve: Delete the membership in Hint and enroll per the file data.

Hint could not enroll the dependent according to the membership in the file. Please review the employee and dependent data in the file versus what is in Hint today to find the root cause of the issue.

  • This error is a bit of a catch-all that arises when the system fails to enroll the dependent in the indicated membership.

  • How to Resolve:

    • There is an error on the employee row preventing the employee's membership from being created/updated --> fix error on employee

    • There is invalid data in the file i.e. dependent is active but employee has an end date or employee is missing from the file --> contact file provider letting them know there is invalid data.

    • If you cannot determine the root cause, contact Hint.

End Date Discrepancy: Patient in file was ended by user [user email] with end date [date]; however they do not have an end date in the file. Please re-enroll this member if their membership was ended in error.

  • This error arises when the patient does not have an end date in the file but their membership has an end date in Hint.

  • How to Resolve: Reach out to the user who ended the membership to confirm whether they did so in error or if the file is out of date.

Enrollment Failure: In the file, patient is enrolled as a(n) [member type] with [Company] since [start date]. In Hint, patient is enrolled as a(n) [member type] with [Company] since [start date]. Please confirm which membership you want reflected in Hint.

  • This error arise when a patient is already enrolled in an active sponsored membership.

  • How to Resolve: Check the patient's current membership and decide whether to:

    • Terminate the existing membership and enroll the patient in the membership from the file or

    • Mute the error and retain the existing membership

Enrollment Failure: In the file, patient is enrolled as a(n) [member type] with [Company] since [start date]. In Hint, patient is enrolled under the retail membership [plan name] since [start date]. Please confirm which membership you want reflected in Hint.

  • This error arise when a patient is already enrolled in an active retail membership.

  • How to Resolve: Check the patient's current membership and decide whether to:

    • Terminate the existing membership and enroll the patient in the membership from the file or

    • Mute the error and retain the existing membership

Hint failed to process this row because the patient does not have a unique External ID. Hint requires all patients to have a unique External ID - please contact file provider to fix this issue.

  • This error arises when patients in the file share the same External ID.

  • How to Resolve: Contact file provider to fix this issue. You can also manually create the patient in the meantime.

Validation failed: SSN number has already been taken

  • This error arises when the system does not want to create a patient with an SSN that is already associated with another patient.

  • How to Resolve: If the SSN appears multiple times in the file, contact the file provider to update the data for those patients. If they do not, contact Hint.

[Company] is inactive in Hint. If the company was inactivated in error, please reactivate; otherwise, contact file provider to remove these patients from the file.

  • This error arises when there is eligibility/enrollment data for a company that is inactive in Hint.

  • How to Resolve: Contact the file provider to remove the eligibility/enrollment data for that company.

The dependent plan must match the employee plan

  • This error arises when employee in the file has a different plan from the dependent’s plan in the file.

  • How to Resolve: Contact file provider to confirm coverage details.

Hint could not find the dependent's employee ([employee identifier]) - either the employee is missing from the file or was ignored as a duplicate (check the Warnings table). Either way, please contact the file provider about adding the employee or cleaning up the data, respectively.

~or~

No matching employee found. If [employee name] was part of this upload, check their row for typos

  • This error arises on dependents when the employee was not created/identified.

  • How to Resolve:

    • There is an error on the employee row preventing the employee from being created --> Fix the error

    • The employee is missing from the file --> Contact the file provider that this employee is missing from the file

    • The employee is present in the file multiple times --> Contact the file provider to remove the duplicate data.

Hint cannot identify the employee for this dependent because column [name] is null or invalid. Please contact the file provider to update the data.

  • This error arises on dependents when the Subscriber ID/Dependent Of column is not populated or invalid


    e.g. Example of invalid Subscriber ID
    External ID, First Name, Last Name, DOB, Member Type, Subscriber ID

    123, Jon, Doe, 01/01/1990, Spouse, 123

    In this situation, the data is telling us that Jon Doe is a spouse and his employee is himself, which doesn't make sense. Either Jon Doe's Member Type should be "Employee" or the Subscriber ID is incorrect and should point to a different patient.

  • How to Resolve: Contact the file provider to fix the data.

Row-Level Warnings

As a reminder, file rows are still processed if there is a warning but Hint ignores the field that produced the warning. 

The following warnings can all be resolved by contacting the file provider to confirm the correct data. After you get the correct data, you can then manually update the field on the patient's chart in Hint or wait for the next upload to fix the data: 

  • Member start date cannot change on a billed membership.

  • [Phone Type] Phone is not valid

  • Email Validation: Hint could not update patient's email because the email is invalid.

  • Email Validation: Hint could not update patient's email because it is not unique within the company's subscribers.

  • Dependent cannot have a membership start date before the subscriber.

  • [Last 4] is not a valid SSN


Additional warnings you may come across are as follows: 

Practitioner not found

  • This warning arises when the name in the Provider column is not an exact match to the name of the Provider in Hint.

  • How to Resolve: Update the name to be an exact match to the Provider name in Hint.

Location not found

  • This warning arises when the name in the Location column is not an exact match to the name of the Location in Hint.

  • How to Resolve: Update the name to be an exact match to the Location name in Hint.

Membership end date in the file is in the past, so Hint terminated the membership with an end date of [membership end date] This membership was billed from [billing start date] through [billing end date] if you'd like to add an adjustment on the invoice.

  • This warning arises when the patient's end date is prior to the first of the current month.

  • How to Resolve: Determine whether you want to refund the employer then add a credit to the invoice.

Dependent has a start date in the past. Hint does not backbill dependents - please review what invoice adjustments may be needed.

  • This warning arises when a dependent is added to an existing billed membership with a start date is in the past. 

  • How to Resolve: Determine whether you want to backbill the employer then add an adjustment to the invoice.

Pending data match for [Division Name] division

  • This warning arises when the patient's division does not match any division in Hint.

  • How to Resolve: Contact Hint.

This row was ignored as it is a duplicate to processed row #

  • This warning arises on the duplicate patient row that was ignored in favor of another row.  

  • How to Resolve: There isn't really a need to resolve this but if you have questions or don't think the row should've been ignored, contact Hint.

Eligibility AutoSync-specific

New file on Disabled Feed Enroller

  • This message occurs if we haven't turned on the automatic processing; when we first set up an AutoSync, we do not enable automatic processing until we've successfully processed a file. Hint will usually review and process the file quickly - but if you do not see a success message within 72 hours, please contact Hint at support@hint.com.

File-Level Warnings

  • Missing patients (#): There are patients in Hint that were not in the file. Click 'View >' to see a list of missing patients.

  • Terminated by omission (#): Patients missing from the file were terminated by omission. Click 'View >' to see a list of terminated patients.

  • Failure to terminate: there are a significantly high number of missing patients, please verify file for missing data: The number of missing patients for this company exceeds the limit. Contact the file provider to confirm missing patients should no longer have coverage. If the file is correct and the list is small enough, you can terminate the members manually. Otherwise, contact Hint.

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