From CBIA News, December 2001

New service takes COBRA administration off your shoulders

Employees who are laid off, terminated or leave your company for almost any reason must be offered continued health insurance coverage. Failure to do so, or to do it properly, can result in costly penalties.

But most small companies don’t have the time or resources to understand and comply with the complicated regulations for federal COBRA or the state’s health insurance continuation law.

That’s why CBIA created a COBRA Administration Service that makes meeting these obligations simple, reliable and affordable. It’s available to CBIA members that participate in the CBIA Health Connections or CBIA/Aetna U.S. Healthcare insurance programs. The association handles all of the logistics, including:

• creating and distributing COBRA notices and election forms to employees and dependents (called “qualified beneficiaries”);

• billing for qualified beneficiaries;

• premium collection and payment to insurance carriers; and

• archival and retrieval of COBRA records.
  

Companies with up to 49 employees pay an annual administration fee of just $250, plus $1 per covered employee per month. Those employing 50 or more pay $300 annually, plus 75 cents per covered employee per month.

Ask your insurance broker for complete details, or call CBIA’s Tom Guerra at 860-244-1900.