COBRA is a U.S. federal law that allows employees and their dependents to continue their group health insurance coverage for a limited period after their employment ends or they experience a qualifying event that would otherwise result in loss of coverage. Qualifying events can include job loss, reduction in work hours, death of the covered employee, and other life events.
COBRA administration typically involves several key responsibilities:
Notification: Employers are required to notify eligible employees and their dependents about their rights under COBRA when a qualifying event occurs.
Election Period: Eligible individuals must be given a specific period during which they can choose to continue their coverage under COBRA.
Premiums: COBRA beneficiaries are generally required to pay the full premium for their health coverage, including the portion that the employer may have previously covered.
Duration of Coverage: COBRA coverage is usually temporary, lasting for a set period (often 18 or 36 months), depending on the qualifying event.
Record Keeping: Employers and plan administrators must maintain records related to COBRA notifications, elections, and premium payments.
Compliance: It’s crucial to comply with COBRA regulations to avoid penalties and legal issues.
As COBRA regulations and requirements may change, it’s important to find a trustworthy and efficient partner to oversee the proper implementation of your company’s COBRA administration including accurate record-keeping, timely notifications to eligible individuals, and compliance with all legal requirements.
If you’re looking for high-quality software and services that can fulfill these needs, you may be interested in the solutions the SBAM team can offer you.
Your COBRA eligible employees can COBRA enroll and pay online and COBRA premium reimbursements to member groups will be made via ACH. You do not have to manually enter enrollments/terminations to generate COBRA Notices yourself. We will do that for you!
Communicate with our customer care team online through our Freshdesk web portal. Freshdesk is SBAM’s cloud-based customer service portal that provides our members and their insurance agents with helpdesk support that includes smart automation that will help get things done faster.
Freshdesk provides real-time updates and transparency for tracking where in the process your ticket is with the SBAM member care team. You can reply to the ticket and receive auto updates from the system letting you know status changes for your request. We built an expert team that we’re extremely proud of and who is committed to you. Together, we’re a trustworthy resource for all your COBRA administration needs.
Visit sbam.org/cobra to contact our team and learn more.