Do you have a COBRA Administrator? Here’s why you should consider one…
Some companies may opt to handle COBRA in-house rather than hiring a COBRA administrator in an effort to save money. But even the most well-meaning companies can run into problems when administering COBRA themselves. Let’s walk through some examples of issues a company can face when leaving COBRA administration to their HR department.
Example
Company A is a mid-sized manufacturer with about 250 full-time employees and keeps all HR functions in-house, including COBRA administration. The HR department is made up of a small team that handles all HR functions.
Even though the HR team did their best to educate themselves on their COBRA responsibilities, they weren’t fully informed about the intricacies of COBRA regulations. Over the years, there were several mistakes in managing COBRA benefits, like failing to provide timely notices to employees and former employees who were eligible for COBRA continuation coverage. This was a compliance violation and opened the door to potential legal action against Company A.
The HR team also ran into trouble maintaining accurate records of COBRA participants, payment history, and documenting communication. This resulted in inaccurate premium payments, causing frustration and additional time spent remedying the mistakes.
Since the small HR team handled all HR tasks for the company, they often weren’t able to answer questions and resolve issues from COBRA-eligible employees fast enough, leading to complaints about slow responses and resolutions. The overall capacity of the HR team was strained since they still had many other responsibilities to cover beyond COBRA administration.
BASIC has been a trusted COBRA Administrator for years.
Companies managing their own COBRA might experience just one of these issues or all of them, and the threat of noncompliance simply isn’t worth it. BASIC has been a COBRA administrator for years, and we know how tough it is to manage in-house. We can help your HR department get their time back for other crucial tasks while we handle the demanding aspects of COBRA. Our proven administration model keeps you compliant, stress-free, and allows us to manage your former employees while you take care of your current ones. It’s what we do!
