ARRA Exclusion: New in TravisCobra

Posted on April 28th, 2009 by sarah.knight | 8 comments »
Category: 2009 Stimulus, New Features
Topics: ,

TravisCobra 8.3.0.15 was released today, April 28, and includes an ARRA Exclusion enhancement, originally discussed here, that will allow you to exclude domestic partners and other ineligible dependents from receiving the 65% ARRA subsidy. This is just the latest feature that has been added to the TravisCobra system to help you administer the new ARRA COBRA regulations.

Where to Find ARRA Exclusions in TravisCobra

The ARRA Exclusion button is located in the Benefits tab from the PQB Edit screen, and is only available for PQBs who are ARRA eligible.

To enter an ARRA Exclusion amount for an ineligible dependent

  1. From the File menu, choose PQB.
  2. Select a PQB and then choose the Edit button.
  3. Choose the Benefit button.
  4. Select a benefit assignment.
  5. Choose the ARRA Exclusion button.
  6. Enter the ARRA Exclusion Amount.
  7. Select Close.

Software Availability

TravisCobra version 8.3.0.15 is available now. A release email was sent to you with the FTP location to download this latest patch, which happens to be the same FTP location you downloaded all previous 8.3 updates from.

8 Responses to “ARRA Exclusion: New in TravisCobra”

  1. Kathleen Garner Says:
    April 29th, 2009 at 10:07 AM

    Will you also be enhancing Web COBRA with the same feature?

  2. Sarah Knight Says:
    April 29th, 2009 at 11:11 AM

    @Kathleen: Yes, WebCOBRA will be updated with a similar feature. We’ll keep you posted on when it becomes available!

  3. Denise Says:
    April 29th, 2009 at 01:20 PM

    Is the amount of the exclusion to be entered the amount of the premium without the 2%?

    The rates that we have set up in the system are without the 2% and the system calculates the 2% automatically.

  4. Sarah Knight Says:
    April 29th, 2009 at 04:16 PM

    @Denise: Enter the exclusion amount without the 2%.

  5. Denise Says:
    May 5th, 2009 at 10:04 AM

    I entered the exclusion amount both ways and the only way that it calculated properly was to enter the exclusion amount including the 2%. Are you sure that the exclusion amount should not contain the 2%?

  6. Sarah Knight Says:
    May 5th, 2009 at 03:11 PM

    @Denise: Please contact Travis Support. We are unable to diagnose potential issues over the Blog.

  7. Denise Says:
    May 6th, 2009 at 01:47 PM

    I am in the process of testing the application of the ARRA Exclusion amount in the system. I have found through my testing that the exclusion amount does not have an effective date as to when the exclusion is to be applied nor does it go retro active to any payments that have been posted that are subdisy eligible, e.g. back to 3/1/09.

    Was it your intent when rolling this out that the exclusion amount would simply just apply to the next payment posted or was it supposed to go back to payments already posted for 3/1/09 and re-adjust?

    Realistically, the ARRA exclusion field should have an effective date in which the exclusion should begin to be applied that coinsides with a premium due date. This way, in the event that a dependent is added that is not eligible for the subsidy, we could tell the system as of which pay due date to begin applying the exclusion amount.

    Can you elaborate on the intended functionally that was released so that I may ascertain if it is working properly and make suggestions in the idea book accordingly.

  8. Sarah Knight Says:
    May 6th, 2009 at 03:54 PM

    @Denise: The exclusion amount does not go retro and does not have an effective date. If you would like to see this added to the system, please put it on the Travis Ideabook. Thanks!

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