State Continuation Changes in WebCobra and TravisCobra [Update]

Posted on July 7th, 2009 by sarah.knight | 2 comments »
Category: New Features
Topics: , , ,

We previously posted details of the new State Continuation guidelines for both Pennsylvania and Utah. The expanded versions of these laws are now available in the WebCOBRA.com system, and are referred to as so-called “Mini-COBRA” laws, which affect employers with less than 20 employees. (Employers with more than 20 employees are naturally covered by Federal COBRA)

Updated: 7/07/2009 – changed to reflect availability in TravisCobra.

Pennsylvania

Beginning on 7/10/2009, COBRA administrators will be able to select the Qualifying Event (QE) of Termination for the State of Pennsylvania, which will allow the QB to have up to 9 months of COBRA Continuation coverage if they had at least 3 months of consecutive prior coverage. Additionally, the maximum allowable premium administrative fee for Mini-COBRA plans is 5%

The passing of this Mini-COBRA law also allow the Participants in the Pennsylvania State Mini-COBRA to be eligible to receive the government-funded ARRA subsidy.

WebCOBRA: Pennsylvania Election Notice

TravisCobra: Pennsylvania Election Notice

Utah

Previously, Loss of Coverage was the only Qualifying Event (QE) that Utah allowed under their State Continuation law, and now, the QEs have been expanded to include:

  • Termination
  • Retirement
  • Death
  • Your Becoming Ineligible Dependent
  • Reduced Hours
  • Leave of Absence – Family/Medical
  • Divorce/Separation
  • Utah – Loss of Coverage

QBs will now also be eligible for coverage for up to 12 months and only have to have 3 months of prior coverage, instead of the previous 6.

WebCOBRA: Utah Election Notice

TravisCobra: Utah Election Notice

Software Availability

This feature is available now! WebCOBRA was uploaded through a hotfix on 7/5/2009 without any interference on the part of the user.

TravisCobra version 8.4.0.06 is available now. A release email was sent to you with the FTP location to download this latest patch.

2 Responses to “State Continuation Changes in WebCobra and TravisCobra [Update]”

  1. Danielle Meehan Says:
    July 10th, 2009 at 12:29 PM

    Hello, I am trying to add a new QB. The system is not allowing a date before 7/10/2009, stating due to the PA Mini COBRA. The company is over 20 ees, how can we get past this point?

    Thanks!

  2. Sarah Knight Says:
    July 13th, 2009 at 10:32 AM

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

Comments are closed for this article.