Sample ARRA COBRA Election Packets
Category: 2009 Stimulus
Topics: stimulus, traviscobra, webcobra
We have published sample COBRA Election Packets generated from TravisCobra and WebCOBRA. Both systems are in final test right now, and will be delivered this weekend.
Last Update: 03/09/2009
What Changes Should You See?
In the COBRA Election Notice, there is a new set of paragraphs that will print only for ARRA notifications. The paragraph explains why the QB/PQB is receiving a new election packet, and gives general guidance. In both systems, this will be fully editable as an Insertable Template (WebCOBRA) and a Block (TravisCobra).
The ARRA Enrollment Form, a new letter, printed instead of the regular Enrollment Form. It will have the lower, subsided rates on it, and an explanation of what the QB has to do in order to be confirmed as eligible for the government Premium Reduction.
The Premium Computation Form will show the lower rates as well; in addition, the dates to start payments are March 1, 2009.
Lastly, on the COBRA Election Notice, the QB’s have 18 months of coverage from their original event date as keeping with the regulations.
TravisCobra ARRA COBRA Election Notice
WebCOBRA ARRA COBRA Election Notice
For the plans referenced in the packets: they were not identical, so the premiums come out slightly different
Update Later 2/27/2009: We’ve also published:- Premium Reduction Report (Updated 3/9/2009)
- ARRA Enrollment Form
- ARRA Confirmation Letter
75 Responses to “Sample ARRA COBRA Election Packets”
Comments are closed for this article.
February 26th, 2009 at 04:26 PM
Will there be a Premium Computation sheet that reflects the 35% premium? We think the wording on the included Premium Computation sheet will be confusing to the participants.
February 26th, 2009 at 04:35 PM
@Kristine: The premium computation form included in the packet does include the 65% reduction; You’ll be able to edit it if you’d like.
February 26th, 2009 at 05:56 PM
Thanks for posting! What letter will generate for participants that are currently enrolled? I think if this letter is sent, the following line will not make sense “No coverage is being offered to you between the date of your original loss of coverage as an active employee and the date your continuation coverage begins under this offer.” Will the system generate a different letter?
It looks like this is notification letter 1 – I understand this notice is good for anyone who was already offered COBRA prior to March 1st and will go out in the initial mailing, but what about going forward? If the letter is being sent to someone with a term date of 5/1/09 and was a voluntary term it doesn’t seem to make sense or apply to them. what rates would pull?
February 27th, 2009 at 09:41 AM
In the letter regarding MAGI “Also, premium assistance is reduced for those who are eligible for assistance but whose MAGI is above 125,000 etc”
I’m confused by this wording and the reference to MAGI 145,000 to 290,000. Please clarify.
February 27th, 2009 at 09:49 AM
I was anticipating the letter would include the full premium AND the reduced premium to further clarify the reduction for the employee.
Please explain the 2% adm fee – is that included and is it based on 100% of the premium. Thanks
February 27th, 2009 at 10:05 AM
I was wondering how are we (employer or TPA) supposed to verify income levels. We certainly will have payroll records for the QB, but we will not know whether the QB has other income and what the QB’s spouse makes. Maybe the notice should request 2008 tax info?
February 27th, 2009 at 10:34 AM
How can we edit the letter to show the actual 35% premium that the QB would pay? Are their macros set up for this? If so, can we get a new list of Macros posted.
Can we get samples of the other letters that will go out for all future terminations or will we need to edit our current letters?
Clarification on the MAGI amounts…. is that income for 2009? Can we specify that in our letter?
February 27th, 2009 at 10:54 AM
It is very improtant to me as an employer to show the full premium amount in the packet and then to show the amount they are responsible for (35%)
February 27th, 2009 at 10:55 AM
@Cara: We’ll post a copy of the enrolled QBs ARRA Enrollment Form later today, it won’t be a complete cobra election notice
@Helen: MAGI is modified adjusted gross income; the IRS will reduce the amount of subsidy a QB can take if their income (MAGI) is above 125,000 and its completely gone at the 145,000 rate
@Yelena: You’re not supposed to verify them. If the QB, at the end of the year, makes over the cap, they’ll pay for it on their income taxes
@Elizabeth: For terminations after the enactment date of 2/17/2009, would including the ARRA enrollment form satisfy your needs? If not, you can add your own wording… we will most likely modify our standard COBRA Election Notice after the DOL issues their model notices.
February 27th, 2009 at 11:42 AM
MAGI – since the 4th paragraph of the letter appears to be the only reference to income limits, it should state that the full 65% subsidy is available to eligible persons who fall under 125 and 250 MAGI and then continue with statement you have in letter. Am I missing that somewhere in the letter?
February 27th, 2009 at 12:29 PM
@Helen: I think it’s pretty clear that you get the subsidy if you meet the A,B,C requirements, but it can be reduced if your yearly income is too high. You’ll be free to edit the letter as you see fit though.
February 27th, 2009 at 12:58 PM
Will the enrolled QB’s ARRA enrollment form be automatically pulled in the system for enrolled QB’s that have an event of termination?
In the previos discussion of the ARRA the recomendation for sending the new notice to all QE’ entered as terminations was because they need to know that it is available if they are determined eligible but also because the QB’s have an appeal right. Shouldn’t the appeal preocess be in the letter?
On the first page under teh Administrator address:
If you do not elect to continue your health care coverage by completing the enclosed “Enrollment Form” and returning it to us, your coverage under the Plan will end on 03/01/2009 due to: Termination on the Qualifying Event Date of 09/11/2008.
This gives the impression that the QB has had coverage until 03/01/09 and by not responding their coverage will now be terminated effective 03/01/09. The date 03/01/09 should be replaced with the macro for Last day covered as an active employee.
Second Page this is confusing:
Any claims submitted for expenses incurred following the date of the Qualifying Event may be held in suspense until all premiums which are due have been paid.
Which QE are you referring to, the original or the new 03/01/09 for newly electing QB’s? If this letter is to be sent to currently enrolled QB’s that terminated after 09/01/08 their claims are not being suspended.
The Enrollment Form needs to be formatted to print on a single page. For two sided printing the enrollment form prints on the back of the information we want the QB to keep, page 5. The enrollment form is page 6.
Since there will be no pre-existing clause applied to QB’s that enroll during this special enrollment the reference to creditable coverage in the HIPPA cert will be confusing. I know I can elect not to have the HIPAA cert print with the election information but for “normal” event notifications I want it to print. Will there be an option to not print the HIPAA cert for the re-notification forms?
I agree, a TPA or COBRA service providor should not be responsible for determing the MAGI nor should we be responsible for determining if the QB has become eligible to enroll in other group health insurance. I thought I saw somewhere that eligible to enroll in another group health insurance could be a spouse’s insurance and we will have no way of knowing that. The QB will be responsible for penalties and taxes if anyone every has the time to completely verify eligibilty and income.
You refer to the likelyhood of having to modify the standard COBRA Election notice after the DOL releases their model notice. Since the DOL Model Notice has not been released, and they have until 03/19/08 to do so, I’m concerned that sending this ARRA election notice may be premature and we will have to send revised notices after the DOL releases their model notice. Would it not be prudent to wait until the DOL’s language is released?
February 27th, 2009 at 01:36 PM
@Lyn: you bring up some good points: I would customize the first page of the election notice to deal with the 3/1 situation and add clarifications where you see fit.
The best advice I’ve seen a TPA give their clients is to calm down; however, we as a software provider will let you notify people as soon as the release is made available. It’s up to the administrator’s judgment on what customizations to make and when to notify people.
February 27th, 2009 at 02:05 PM
I have usually made edits to provide more clarification in the letters.
But I need the answer to: Will the enrolled QB’s ARRA enrollment form be automatically pulled in the system for enrolled QB’s that have an event of termination?
and
The Enrollment Form needs to be formatted to print on a single page. For two sided printing the enrollment form prints on the back of the information we want the QB to keep, page 5. The enrollment form is page 6
I can’t reformat the printing to accomodate the enrollment form printing on one side in the two sided printing process.
February 27th, 2009 at 02:29 PM
If our clients have already told us which of the terminated folks were voluntarily termed, is there any reason we should send this new notification to them?
February 27th, 2009 at 03:40 PM
@Lyn: When you are adding new QBs, if you mark them as ARRA Eligible, it will print out the ARRA Enrollment Form and should satisfy what you need. Regarding the double sided—there’s a lot of new information, and if you can format it, great! If not, you may want to add a page-break above the part that the QB would return, creating a sort of enrollment cover page.
@Chuck: In my opinion no, but there are opinions that you’d want to notify everyone and validate when the QB turns in their notice. It’s up to you.
To all: We’ll be making improvements to all the processes as we gather feedback over the next few weeks on what administrators want and need for ARRA processing.
February 27th, 2009 at 03:47 PM
I agree with Chuck. We have already identified who are the involuntary terms with all of our COBRA groups and would like to mail them one letter, but an actual packet for those who we identify as eligible based on employer input.
Also, can anyone offer advice on this question? How would you treat an employee who terminates due to medical after his med leave expires? Employer would have a job for him if clean bill of health.
Also, multiple employer of 3, but smallest group only has 11 employees remaining in a different state as of this year and differnt tax id. Mini COBRA or regular COBRA?
February 27th, 2009 at 03:58 PM
In regards to those we have terminated since 9/1 that we need to re-offer COBRA to: for everyone who has terminated be it voluntary or involuntary we enter “termination/resignation” as the reason~ will we have to generate each letter individually if we want to only send out to those who have involuntary terminated or will they generate for everyone who has the “termination/resignation” reason? As of now we have involuntarily terminated about 275 people and the number of “termination/resignations” we have sent out since 9/1 is around 500.
February 27th, 2009 at 04:02 PM
Cherie~ My company considers a non-return from medical leave an involuntary termination thus we are going to re- offer. Also we have had 2 employees die since september which we also clasify as involuntary thus their dependents are eligible for the subsidy and we are going to re-offer to them as well.
February 28th, 2009 at 08:04 AM
I have reviewed the ARRA Enrollment form and the ARRA Confirmation Letter. Both letters refer to coverage going back to 12/01/08. It was my understanding that coverage was not going to “go back” but would begin with the coverage period following 02/17/09.
Did I miss something?
February 28th, 2009 at 08:28 AM
According to the requirements for IRS reporting by employers they need to provide the SS# and level of coverage for the employee being subsidized. As Alan has mentioned, this takes us backwards in time by printing SS# but the IRS is requiring they be provided. Can the SS# and level of coverage be added to the ARRA Premium Reduction Report? I’ve not found a way to edit reports in Web COBRA and the Ad Hoc reporting only allows for a report to be run on a per company basis.
February 28th, 2009 at 08:38 AM
@Lyn: The enrollment form posted is for existing enrolled QBs, so this (fake) QB’s covered started on 12/1/2008.
@Lyn: You’ll be able to force the SSN, or you can follow the 2nd option on the post which lets you give the report to your clients and have them transpose the SSN for reporting purposes.
February 28th, 2009 at 09:58 AM
I have numerous QBs that have been enrolled or were enrolled in COBRA since 9/1/08 that may have had multiple lines of coverage available to them but only elected to continue one or two. Because the system requires me to, I have deleted the lines of coverage they did not elect. Now those people need to be offered a special enrollment for those lines of coverage that were deleted. How do you recommend I handle this?
February 28th, 2009 at 10:29 AM
Good Morning Jesse,
In the interest of clarity, could you post a document that discusses each new document, what we have to do to make the system produce it and what / when it will be used for? Also, it might help if each document was named as descriptively as possible, no matter how long the name has to be.
At this point we’re looking for the following Information:
Exactly which QE’s will the wizard produce these letters / notices for and can we tell the wizard to send it to other QE’s if we choose to?
Can the second chance notices be edited to exclude things like premium computation forms, Q & A’s. HPAA certs and other forms that duplicate what the QE received the first time they got a COBRA offer?
Will the second chance enrollment form show the full COBRA rate or the 35% rate?
What document do we use to notify existing enrolleds that they may be entitled to the subsidy?
Will the notice and enrollment form that goes out to these QB’s make it clear that the only change to their COBRA will be a discounted rate beginning 3/1?
Will new QB’s get just an “Insert” about ARRA along with their normal COBRA notice until DOL comes out with Model Notices?
If so, what will it say and will it have a special enrollment form if the person wants the subsidy??
Will we have to tell the system that the QB is an AEI at the time we enter them or can we wait to “click that button” until we receive an enrollment form back claiming AEI status?
Lots more questions but you get the idea. We all need a clear walk through or Manual that we can refer back to when we get confused or have questions about the process.
Thanks,
- Chuck
March 1st, 2009 at 08:34 PM
I have not seen any changes or updates to the WebCOBRA version this weekend. Do you know when this update will occur?
March 2nd, 2009 at 08:32 AM
@kim: I would handle those in the same way you’re going to handle clients who (for example) changed from AETNA to UHC as of 1/1/09. Those QBs will still be attached to AETNA. Users have suggested that they ask their clients what plans a new employee would be offered, and then offer those plans to the QBs.
@Chuck: Yes, we’ll publish a document that answers most of your questions. We will also be scheduling training in both TravisCobra and WebCOBRA that focuses only on the 2009 ARRA Changes.
@Lorie: The WebCOBRA updates will most likely be installed tonight (3/2/2009). We’ll post an update to the blog when its ready, like we did the TravisCobra release.
March 2nd, 2009 at 09:04 AM
I was reviewing the ARRA Payroll Premium Reduction Report, and can’t figure out the amounts. I would think the Premium would = Total amount of premium, Pay = what the QB would pay, and the Stimulus would be the 65%. The report is confusing. Can you please explain this report?
Thank you,
March 2nd, 2009 at 10:16 AM
Hello Jesse, Do you or anyone else know if a benefit is completly voluntariy will it still be eligible for the subsidy?
For example: Some of our clients offer dental, but the ee has to pay the full cost. Would that plan because it is a group plan still be available for the subsidy. I am thinking if it is offered under COBRA then it would be, but wonder what others thoughts are?
Also, you said there would be traing available for Web COBRA on all of this, how do I sign up for this training?
March 2nd, 2009 at 10:20 AM
Im sorry, one more thing, we upload termed QB’s from one system to Web COBRA, using the XML formate. Will there be something new on that formate to make note of if someone is eliglbe for the subsidy or not?
March 2nd, 2009 at 11:03 AM
We are under the impression the renotification will need to be mailed to ALL QEs and not just QEs of termination. How was the decision made to only pull terminations?
Also, will the system send renotification letters to participants who had secondary QEs within 9 months of the original?
March 2nd, 2009 at 12:38 PM
@Rose: You’re right, it was a bit confusing and we’ll work on that and post a new version that has better labeled columns.
@Adella: You’ll need to get counsel’s opinion on if there are any exceptions for what you called completely voluntary plans. Yes, we’ll be updating the XML to allow you to specify if a QB has already met the ARRA Subsidy guidelines
@Sebrina: The renotification wizard will notify all QB’s with codes of 1 and 9 (termination and custom loss of coverage) of their right to re-notify.March 2nd, 2009 at 01:25 PM
I have received conflicting information from Carriers here in MA as it pertains to Mini COBRA. I have three carriers stating that the subsidy applies to mini COBRA for employees termed after the act passed, but the second chance election does not apply to minicobra. Can you clarify this for me?
March 2nd, 2009 at 01:36 PM
@Mike: Sorry, no, you’ll have to get advice from counsel on whether the state continuation coverage applies for the subsidy. Our systems will let you administer the subsidy for State (and Extended State) continuation if you believe it should be, but that’s up for your interpretation.
March 2nd, 2009 at 01:48 PM
Jesse,
Based on the explanation that was attached to the TCOBRA 8.3 release, it appears that the wizard / ARRA notificastion process will send SOMETHING to the following QB’s who had a QE of termination that took place on or after 9/1/2007
1) Non Commenced 2) Pending (is this pending as of the date we run the wizard or as of 2/17/209?) 3) Enrolled (again, enrolled as of what date?)
If I understand the explanation, each will receive the following:
1) Non Commenced – A complete NEW COBRA offer that shows a COBRA start date of 3/1 and includes ARRA information and an ARRA enrollment form. These are the “second Chance” people 2) Pending – A revised ORIGINAL COBRA offer that replaces the first one they got. This notice will be just like the new COBRA notices the system will send out to QB’s we eneter after today 3) Enrolled QB’s – an ARRA explanation and enrollment form ( all on one page unless we put in a page break )to use when applying for the subsidy affective 3/1
Please confirm / correct my understanding above.
Also, I assume that “Non commenced” also includes commenced but then fropped before 2/17/2008?
Thanks,
- Chuck
March 2nd, 2009 at 02:02 PM
@Chuck—the dates were one year off; but I think you meant 9/1/2008 and 2/17/2009. And yes, you are correct in everything else. For your 1/2/3 questions, on #3: it means enrolled as of date you run the wizard.
March 3rd, 2009 at 08:20 AM
Are these letters suppose to be included in the upgrade?
March 3rd, 2009 at 08:29 AM
Hello, I was just wondering when these notices will be posted to the website and how we will generate them. Will there be instructions? Jessee had said in an earlier post that they would be posted last night, but I dont see any new notices.
March 3rd, 2009 at 08:48 AM
@Cheryl: for both systems, yes. If you don’t have them in TravisCobra, you should contact support
@Adella: We’ll post an update here once WebCOBRA has been upgraded; it has not yet. We’re running through scenarios to make sure the reporting is accurate and makes sense.
March 3rd, 2009 at 10:03 AM
Hello Jesse,
I read above where you indicated that Travis is making adjustments to the XML to allow us to specify if a QB has already met the ARRA Subsidy guidelines. My question is won’t I have to communicate this change to ADP Employease to update the file specs for the data file that is sent from their system that I upload to WebCOBRA? Are there new specs out there?
March 3rd, 2009 at 10:05 AM
Can you please explain the computation on the ARRA Payroll Premium Reduction Report.The numbers are not adding up. Will the NEW Election packet include the reduction fee’s? The sample above does not reflect this!
March 3rd, 2009 at 10:59 AM
I understand that if the rates and/or benefits have changed since the QB’s date of termination, that the outdated information will pull on the new forms instead of the updated rates/benefits. Should we be removing this information from the forms? Has a separate communication/process been prepared to communicate their actual benefits/rates once they have elected the subsidy?
March 3rd, 2009 at 11:03 AM
Is there a new update as to when these changes will be made to WebCOBRA? Thanks
March 3rd, 2009 at 12:04 PM
See below from IRS.gov website, these are the items needed for employers to track 941 tax credits, pleaes advise if all of these will be contained in the report that we will provide to our groups.
Q: What other information relating to the COBRA subsidy must be submitted with the Form 941 besides the entries on Lines 12a and 12b?
A: No additional information relating to the COBRA subsidy is to be submitted with the Form 941, either electronically or in paper form. However, those claiming the credit must maintain supporting documentation for the credit claimed. Such documentation includes:
Information on the receipt, including dates and amounts, of the assistance eligible individuals’ 35% share of the premium. In the case of an insured plan, copy of invoice or other supporting statement from the insurance carrier and proof of timely payment of the full premium to the insurance carrier required under COBRA. In the case of a self-insured plan, proof of the premium amount and proof of the coverage provided to the assistance eligible individuals. Attestation of involuntary termination, including the date of the involuntary termination (which must be during the period from September 1, 2008, to December 31, 2009), for each covered employee whose involuntary termination is the basis for eligibility for the subsidy. Proof of each assistance eligible individual’s eligibility for COBRA coverage at any time during the period from September 1, 2008, to December 31, 2009, and election of COBRA coverage. A record of the SSN’s of all covered employees, the amount of the subsidy reimbursed with respect to each covered employee, and whether the subsidy was for 1 individual or 2 or more individuals. Other documents necessary to verify the correct amount of reimbursement.
March 3rd, 2009 at 12:38 PM
@Julie: We’ll be posting a report where we’ve moved the columns around a bit to make it clearer. It was a bit confusing!
@Erica: We’ll post updates to the CSV and the XML formats soon
@Brenda: You certainly can remove the Benefit Plan Listing from the ARRA Enrollment Form, however you will most likely need to somehow inform the QBs what their rates will be under the new subsidy rate.
@Lorie: We’ll post here when it’s available, but we’re thinking sometime Thursday/Friday/Saturday for WebCOBRA
@Adella: The current versions of the report will contain the QB’s name and SSN and the amount of subsidy per employee. The employer will be required to provide the proof of premium amount (as described in your post). Future versions of the reports could include the Event Date and whether the subsidy is for 1 or more individuals.
March 4th, 2009 at 10:01 AM
We just updated the Premium Reduction Report ... This is a $1000 premium with a 2% admin fee. It should be easier to understand and has the SSN prominently displayed.
March 4th, 2009 at 01:07 PM
Jesse You stated the following in one of your replies: The renotification wizard will notify all QB’s with codes of 1 and 9 (termination and custom loss of coverage) of their right to re-notify. You will have the ability to manually send notices to death/divorce events if you choose. How do we manually send notices on other event reasons?
Thanks!
March 4th, 2009 at 03:38 PM
Jesse – can you run the ARRA Re-notification Process for 1 employer or does it run the process for all my employers. I would like to test a client before we do the process for everyone else.
March 4th, 2009 at 03:47 PM
@karen: Check back for an update on this next week; in the mean time, you would need to re-add the PQBs as a termination event and mark them as ARRA Eligible.
@lindy: Yes, you can run it for 1 employer or all employers in both TravisCobra and WebCOBRA
March 4th, 2009 at 08:53 PM
Mike posted a question about mini-COBRA and the special election opportunity’s. I am also awaiting clarification on mini-COBRA from the FL carriers. However, the DOL FACT Sheet on Premium Reduction states the following:
Special COBRA Election Opportunity: Individuals involuntarily terminated from September 1, 2008 through February 16, 2009 who did not elect COBRA when it was first offered OR who did elect COBRA, but are no longer enrolled (for example because they were unable to continue paying the premium) have a new election opportunity. This election period begins on February 17, 2009 and ends 60 days after the plan provides the required notice. This special election period does not extend the period of COBRA continuation coverage beyond the original maximum period (generally 18 months from the employee’s involuntary termination). COBRA coverage elected in this special election period begins with the first period of coverage beginning on or after February 17, 2009. This special election period opportunity does not apply to coverage sponsored by employers with less than 20 employees that is subject to State law.
March 4th, 2009 at 09:05 PM
@Carole: I agree with you on that because the mini-cobra (what we call State Continuation) is NOT COBRA. So it would make sense to me that the COBRA qualifying events from 9/1/2008 to 2/17/2009 could not affect mini-cobra since by they’re nature they are not COBRA events.
March 5th, 2009 at 08:07 AM
Jesse,
What will happen to the 60 day elction period for QB’s that we sent “normal” COBRA offers to from 2/17/2009 through the date we run the re-notification process?
For instance, as of today we have not updated TCOBRA yet and you have not yet updated WebCOBRA, so the COBRA offers we send out from either system today will not have ARRA info in them (we are considering inserting an ARRA “stuffer” but so far have not). These QB’s will have a 60 election period that begins today.
If these QB’s get a second COBRA offer after the renotification wizard is run, will their 60 day election period start over as of the day we send the second notice? If so we are wasting our time with a stuffer and really confusing the QB by sending the 1st COBRA offer.
- Chuck
March 5th, 2009 at 10:16 AM
@Chuck: For those QBs with events after 2/17/2009, you could either the send them the ARRA Enrollment Form, which won’t talk about their new enrollment period. That’s because they don’t have a new election period; they only have the ability to apply for the Government Subsidy if they apply.
March 5th, 2009 at 11:12 AM
Jesse: Will a document describing the four ARRA Letters that TravisCOBRA can produce also be released? Where would we find the directions on how the modify the letters for TRAVIS COBRA that were released earlier this week?
March 5th, 2009 at 11:16 AM
@Carole: Support is your best bet, but you can modify the letters using the COBRA Letter Write. They’re will be a couple of new letters and two new Blocks.
March 5th, 2009 at 11:26 AM
So, for COBRA offers sent out between 2/17 and the date we run the wizard, the systems will NOT term their original record and create a new record with a new 60 day election period?
Rather it will keep their original record / 60 day election period and just spit out an ARRA notice and Election form?
I’m confused, because in earlier posts you said that all “Pending” folks with an event date of 9/1/2008 or later will get re-notified and their new enrollment period will start 3/1/2009 or the date of their re-notification letter, which ever is later.
Anyone we send COBRA offers to today will likely still be pending on the date we run the wizard.
- Chuck
March 5th, 2009 at 11:29 AM
HI Jesse, concening what the IRS is saying what companies need to have to report the credit. Why is Web COBRA not setting it up to include all the data needed, since it is available? We are a TPA for over 100 diffrent companies, and this is a HUGE concern and disappintment.
March 5th, 2009 at 11:54 AM
Hi Jesse – To verify our calculations for PQBs who qualify for a subsidy along with the stimulus, would you add an example to the ARRA Payroll Premium Reduction Report? Much appreciated!
March 5th, 2009 at 12:30 PM
@Chuck: a QB with an Event on 2/25/2009 can receive the 65% ARRA government subsidy, but does not get a new notification period. So the re-notification wizard won’t print out a new Packet. Instead, we need to make sure that those people just get an ARRA Enrollment Form. Does that make sense?
@Adella: We would not be able to furnish the bill from the insurance company, so I think we’re provided the vast majority of the information needed, and it’s certainly a good start. Further enhancements will be forthcoming as we all learn what is needed to administer ARRA.
@Laura: Sure, we’ll update it either today or tomorrow where one PQB has a $100 subsidy.
March 5th, 2009 at 01:48 PM
Has there been any change to the ARRA release that would change the coverage start date to 2/17/09 a plan that allows entry on the day after the event date? Our client has coverage that terminates on term date as opposed to end of the month. Shouldn’t the re-notification state that their ARRA coverage would start eff 2/17/09 as opposed to 3/1/09? I don’t see a field where I can change the 3/1 to 2/17 so I assume it is hard coded into the new release.
March 5th, 2009 at 02:16 PM
@Joan: Well we have a couple of options, but the release is setup to start ARRA on 3/1/2009 based on the theory that the law stated the coverage will start on the 1st premium start date after the enactment on 2/17. If you had an event on 2/18/2009 that used the event date termination method, you could just add them using the PQB add function, but I don’t think the re notification wizard is for you in that specific case.
March 6th, 2009 at 12:18 PM
Chiming in on the conversation between JOAN and Jesse -
For an “event date” company – The re-notification/extended election period to a QB who had a QED prior to 02/17/09 and did not elect COBRA should have a start date of coverage/subsidy of 02/17/09, not 03/01/09. The law mentions the first period of coverage beginning on or after the date of the enactment of the Act which would be 02/17 – 02/28 in this case. For example, QED is 09/15/08. QB is offered COBRA 09/16/08 and does not elect COBRA. Under ARRA, the QB should be re-offered COBRA with a start date of 02/17, not 03/01.
March 6th, 2009 at 01:34 PM
@Melissa: Thanks for your comments; I personally do not agree with your assessment and we did not write TravisCobra or WebCOBRA to match with your interpretation, although people could manually use our software to match your unique interpretation.
Also (for everyone), in the future please leave your email and website or we’ll be forced to remove the comment.
March 6th, 2009 at 06:27 PM
WILL YOU BE ADDING THE OPTION TO PRINT THE SSN (OR ID NUMBER) OF THE PQB’S ON THE ARRA PREMIUM REPORT? I ANTICIPATE EMPLOYERS WILL WANT TO USE THIS REPORT WHEN REPORTING FOR PAYROLL TAXES. CAN THE ARRA PAYMENTS BE ID’D ON THE VOUCHER REPORT? THIS IS THE REPORT MANY OF OUR CLIENTS WANT WEEKLY. THANKS!
March 7th, 2009 at 07:46 AM
@Victoria: Yes it will be on the ARRA premium report (please see example). In the future, don’t use all caps – it’s shouting.
March 8th, 2009 at 03:18 PM
Jesse – Refering back to Feb 28 response to training – Has there been any decision made as to when there will be WebCOBRA training scheduled?
Also, has the example been completed on the ARRA Payroll Premium Reduction Report showing an someone with subsidy and stimulus? Looking at your response on the 5th, it was going to be posted on the 5th or 6th. I looked at the report connected to this blogging post today and wasn’t able to find it – should I be looking somewhere else? Sorry for my confusion and THANKS for all the work your group is going to answer all of our questions and keep up with the on going changes being sent your way. We all truly apprciate it! Laura
March 9th, 2009 at 08:30 AM
@Laura: We’ll have a training announcement soon; and when the report is prepared we’ll post it.
March 9th, 2009 at 09:24 AM
I noticed that TravisCobra is still calculating the subsidy for 10 months vs. 9 months and that it stops at 12/31/09. For example, a participant termed 6/1/09 will not receive 9 months of subsidy, which is contrary to the law. In addition, if a participant paid for March, the system is not recalculating the premium to reapply to the subsidy as of 3/1. Is this something Travis is addressing immediately? thanks
March 9th, 2009 at 09:51 AM
@Kathy: We haven’t released the update to TravisCobra that modifies the subsidy end date; 8.3.0.7 will be released shortly. Please contact support about how to re-calculate an already closed March premium.
March 9th, 2009 at 10:45 AM
We’ve posted the updated TravisCobra Premium Reduction Report with a $500 subsidy (on the second page).
March 9th, 2009 at 11:24 AM
Jesse: Our IT Dept has not yet (with the help of Travis support) been able to load the Patch. Your note above indicates that there is a new update to TravisCOBRA (which is the platform we use) will be released shortly. Is this a complete update or will it only have the additional changes?
March 10th, 2009 at 09:47 AM
What report can we run prior to flagging PQB’s as AEI’s to ask employer’s to confirm who was involuntarily terminated from employment vs who was not?
March 10th, 2009 at 10:13 AM
@Demi: There is no such report available. Most Administrators are notifying everyone, then as they elect, verifying that they were involuntarily terminated. Another solution would be to ask the employer to provide such a report to you, as the Administrator. You could also use many of the preformatted reports in the system to obtain event information.
March 10th, 2009 at 10:37 AM
If you a multiemployer (union) do the employers pay the 65% not the union? Please let us know and and thanks.
March 18th, 2009 at 11:49 AM
When will we see these updated letters? Has a patch been released yet?
March 18th, 2009 at 03:00 PM
@Kim: The latest version of TravisCobra is 8.3.0.08 and is available on the FTP site you were sent when 8.3 was released. Letter have not been updated, but a new Block, B039, was added that can be inserted on the ARRA Enrollment Form.