COBRA
Administration

Reduce your risk and liability while freeing valuable time and resources.

COBRA administration features that benefit you:

Carrier Terminations & Enrollments

Open Enrollment Assistance

Online Payment Options

Portal is Available 24/7/365

Add Participants & Update Rates

Download Notices & Reports

COBRA is the most commonly outsourced HR function. Since 1995, BASIC has developed the best practices for COBRA, ensuring consistent and reliable compliance. BASIC takes the majority of liability off of employers.

Noncompliance is expensive

Penalties

TAMRA penalties are $100 per day per violation
ERISA penalties are $110 per day per family member

Beyond Fines

Lawsuits leading to monetary judgments, attorney’s fees, and court costs
Obligated to pay medical bills if you can’t prove you offered COBRA within the DOL requirements
Insurance carrier can recover claim payments if COBRA was offered too long or accepted late payments

We exceed DOL COBRA notification time frame guidelines

Non-availability of coverage notice
Termination of COBRA continuation coverage notice
Payment coupons
Failure to elect COBRA notice
Late payment notice

Notice of COBRA premiums short by an “insignificant amount”
Notice of change of COBRA premium
Individual conversion policy notice
Required California notices
Alternative coverage options (if available)

Best-in-class service

Relationship Managers available for large groups or clients of one of our preferred referral partners
Toll-free support with below industry average hold times
Readily available customer service representatives for you and your COBRA participant

Integration With Consumer Driven Accounts (CDA)

BASIC CDA is now a single sign-on solution that lets employers manage Benefits and Benefit Continuation (COBRA) services – no more switching between systems!

Access benefit accounts and COBRA plans online or from our mobile app
Eliminate the need for multiple management platforms and logins

BASIC Benefits App

With a single app, participants can manage all their BASIC benefit accounts and COBRA plans.

Participants can request and submit manual reimbursements or select Picture to Pay provider.
Check expense eligibility anytime, anywhere.
Lock or unlock the BASIC card if lost, stolen, or found.

MyCash

MyCash is an unrestricted post-tax reimbursement account linked to participants’ BASIC Cards.

Reimbursements are deposited directly into the participants’ MyCash accounts and are faster than check or direct deposit!
Participants can pay COBRA premiums with their MyCash balance, credit and debit cards, setting up auto-pay, and more!
Participants can use their BASIC Card to access MyCash funds or they can be transferred to another bank account.

Who must comply with COBRA?

All employers with over 20 employees on 50% of their typical business days in the preceding calendar year.

Qualifying COBRA Events:

Voluntary termination
Involuntary termination
Reduction of employee hours
Death of employee
Divorce or legal separation
Medicare entitlement (in extremely rare circumstances)
Dependent child ceasing to be a dependent

Eligible Coverages:

Medical
Dental
Vision
Prescription
Health FSA
HRA
Certain EAP’s

To ensure your company is compliant with all COBRA regulations, request a proposal today!

About COBRA

What is COBRA?

The Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1986, commonly known as COBRA, provides for continuation of existing group health plan coverage for qualifying employees, covered spouses, and covered dependents. Employers who must comply with this law meet the following qualifications: they employ 20 or more employees on at least 50% of the typical workweek days. Part time employees are counted and if employee counts drop below 20 participants, the current employees still qualify due to the grandfather clause.

Which plans require COBRA continuation coverage?

Many employers incorrectly believe COBRA only applies to medical plans, often referred to as health insurance. However, COBRA applies to most group health plans and must be offered after a qualifying event results in loss of coverage. Group health plans consist of a plan, fund, or program established or maintained by an employer that provides some type of medical care, such as health, dental, vision. Healthcare FSAs, HRAs, and many Wellness and EAP programs.

What are the COBRA notice requirements?

Employers subject to COBRA must notify the administrator of their group health plan no more than 30 days after a qualifying event resulting in an employee’s loss of coverage. The plan administrator must then inform the affected employee of their rights under COBRA, no later than 14 days after receiving the notification from the employer. Should an employer also be the administrator of their group health plan, they have the full length of time above, 44 days, to provide a COBRA election notice to the employee.

How long does COBRA last?

Under COBRA, continuation of health coverage starts from the date the covered employee’s health insurance ends and, depending on the type of qualifying event, may last for 18 months, 29 months or 36 months. BASIC explains the different time frames in depth here.

What is State Continuation vs. COBRA?

While federal COBRA applies to employers with at least 20 employees, State Continuation refers to individual state laws that allow for health plan continuation for employees whose employers are not subject to COBRA. State Continuation, sometimes called “mini-COBRA”, is similar to COBRA but the laws change frequently and each state has their own rules.
Forty states have enacted “mini-COBRA” laws that require smaller organizations to provide COBRA benefits. In addition, just like federal COBRA, mini-COBRA laws require employers to offer continuing health coverage to employees who lose coverage after a qualifying event. Coverage varies by state but can last anywhere from two months to indefinitely if the employee meets certain conditions.
Small employers in these 40 states will need to understand these mini-COBRA laws and learn how to calculate COBRA premiums.