Cobra Administraion

Is your company prepared and ready to handle the responsibilities associated with COBRA administration? Do you know what your responsibilities are? The Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1985 (COBRA) provides for continuation of group health plan coverage for those who would have lost coverage due to certain “qualifying events. The law is complicated with many revisions. Are you in compliance for COBRA?

Let us help. COBRA-Advantage can relieve you of:

  • Paperwork
  • Timeline tracking
  • Carrier interface for reinstatements and terminations
  • Record keeping
  • Burdens associated with keeping informed of the latest legal revisions and updates.

COBRA's costs should not only be measured in terms of the administrative costs incurred by employers trying to meet COBRA requirements (e.g., postage, salaries, general overhead, etc.). The greater cost is health care claims of COBRA participants and the cost of health care benefits that are continued due to improper COBRA administration.

And then there is the cost of non-compliance. Employers who violate COBRA’s provisions are subject to the following:

  • A non-deductible excise tax penalty equal to $100 per day, per affected individual, per violation.
  • Statutory penalties of $110 per day to qualified beneficiaries for failure to provide initial and election notices.
  • Qualified Beneficiaries may sue to recover COBRA coverage.
  • Perhaps “other relief” which could include damages for such things as worsening of a medical condition due to failure to provide an adequate COBRA notice
  • Attorney’s fees and interest could be permitted

 
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