Are you COBRA Compliant in the Age of Health Care Reform?

Are you COBRA Compliant in the Age of Health Care Reform?

 

 

Commonly Asked Questions and Answers to keep you COBRA compliant

Q: With the inception of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, are employers still required to administer COBRA?

A: YES.  COBRA was not mentioned in any of the PPACA legislation.  Continuation of coverage will probably become a burden for both employers and carriers with the changes from health care reform.  As more options become available to individual consumers, employer and carriers will need to make sure they are meeting their requirements for explanation and choice.

Q:  When does the 65% COBRA subsidy under the American Recovery and Reinvestment act end?

A:  The subsidy provided under the ARRA ended as of August 2011.  The last COBRA participants to be eligible would have been terminated from employment prior to May 1, 2012 and have eligibility for 15 months of the subsidy.

Q: How long is an employer required to keep ARRA-subsidized participant records?

A:  Employers are required under COBRA to keep records for 6 year.  It is recommended that employer keep documentation of the participants COBRA continuation, related 941 tax reports and related documents or transaction history for the required 6 years or longer.

Q: With the inception of PPACA, will employees that are terminated still have to be offered COBRA election? 

A:  No clear direction as to COBRA election offerings has been provided yet.  However, the current law requires that in most states, employers with more than 20 employees are subject to federal COBRA and mini-COBRA is group with less than 20 employees.  The guidelines are:

-          Those who experience a qualifying event (see dol.gov for details) are entitled to be offered continuation of coverage through the employer.

-          They need to be afforded the opportunity to participate for a period of time

-          If at the time of the qualifying event the terminated employee is in the middle of a deductible or treatment plan, continuation may be a beneficial option for them

Q: What are the most common employer mistakes when it comes to COBRA?

A:            - Failing to give the appropriate notices to plan participants

                - Failing to offer enrollment to COBRA eligible, terminated employees

                - Providing a greater amount of coverage or allowing the terminated employee to remain covered for too long.

                - Failing to properly send election notices to those experiencing a qualified event

                - Failing to document that the election notice was sent

                - Failing to collect premiums from COBRA participants

                - Continuing to pay the premiums for employees who are no longer covered under the plan

Looking for additional help with your company’s COBRA administration? Contact SHN at info@solidarityhealth.org or call us at 216.831.1220.

 

Content adapted from Health Insurance Underwritter, December 2011. “Taming COBRA” Robert Meyers.

 

Lower Winter Absenteeism: Keep Employees Healthy with a Flu Shot!

Lower Winter Absenteeism: Keep Employees Healthy with a Flu Shot!

 

By Alexandra Granakis

With flu season quickly approaching, now is the time for employers to begin planning.  In America, as much as 20% of the population will contract the flu.  This can mean higher healthcare costs and higher rates of absenteeism.  To fight back against the flu, employers can take many steps to help their employees and reduce the impact the flu may have on their business.  They provide education materials to their employees, including the importance of hand-washing, ensure that they provide health coverage to assist their employees and take steps to stop the spread within the workplace.   One of the most beneficial steps employers can take is to adopt on-site flu vaccination clinics, or provide vouchers to employees to receive a vaccination. 

Educating employees is one important step that employers can take to reduce the incidents of flu in their workplace.  Taking the steps to provide employees with educations posters and brochures about vaccination can do a great deal to help reduce the spread of the virus.  Things for employers to include are where, when and why to get the flu vaccine. 

Choosing a benefit plan that provides dual coverage of vaccinations through both pharmacy and medical is one way to ensure that employees are able to receive their vaccination with no out-of-pocket expense.  Expanding benefit coverage for the vaccinations increases the number of employees that choose to get vaccinated, which decreases the incidents of the virus within the workplace and also decreases the levels of absenteeism.  Some studies have reported that employers can see up to 25% increase in employees choosing to get vaccinated.  More vaccinated employees can result in benefits for the employer, both financially and in terms of performance.   

Other steps employers can take are ensuring that there is proper hygiene.  The flu is easily spread from person to person and from contaminated surfaces.   Tell ill employees to remain home to decrease the chance of spreading.  Provide ample supply of hand sanitizer and tissues throughout the office to reduce the spread.  Encourage all staff members to keep their workspaces disinfected at least once a week. 

A great way to increase the number of employees who choose to get vaccinated is to host an onsite flu vaccination clinic.  This option is convenient and provides ready access for a large number of employees.  The programs are generally free to the employee and can be offered at a discounted cost to spouses and dependents.  Studies have shown that employers can save as much as $80 per employee by providing on-site flu clinics.

Setting up an on-site clinic is easy!

 

If you would like more information on how you can establish an on-site flu vaccination clinic for your employees, please contact SHN at info@solidarityhealth.org.  Or call us at 216.831.1220.

 

Information adapted from EHConnect, Summer 2012. “Plan Now to Keep Employees Healthy This Flu Season” Charity Rausch, PharmD.