Travis Software Official Blog

Hello again! Welcome to the October edition of “Tuesday Tips” where we discuss and demonstrate a common feature or a recently introduced functionality of the system on the first Tuesday of the month.

October’s Tip explains how to add the Social Security Disability Extension period to a Participant’s record in both our WebCOBRA and TravisCobra systems.

The Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) recently updated the DOL website to address the expiration of the COBRA continuation coverage assistance under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA). The update modified the introductory paragraph to address the ARRA subsidy expiration on August 31, 2011 and added a new Question/Answer to the “Frequently Asked Questions” page to discuss situations where the 15-month ARRA subsidy may extend beyond the general expiration date of August 31, 2011.

In 2010, the court in Hearst v. Progressive Foam Technologies, Inc. ruled that the TPA raised a presumption of COBRA compliance regarding the mailing of an election notice by presenting a daily “manifest” of notices that was date-stamped by the U.S. Postal Service. In addition to the proof of mailing by the post office, the TPA also showed that, upon notice of a qualifying event, there was a systematic process used to print and mail COBRA election notices to individuals. The case primarily focused on alleged retaliation regarding the QB’s FMLA leave, but included this COBRA violation allegation as well.

As the end of the availability of ARRA premium subsidy approaches, certain assistance eligible individuals have already or will soon be coming off of their 15-month period of federal government subsidy. Though not required under COBRA, both WebCOBRA and TravisCobra systems include an “ARRA Subsidy Termination Notice” that automatically generates thirty (30) days prior to the last day that a participant is eligible for the subsidy. In this post, you will find helpful information on administering COBRA to qualified beneficiaries who are transitioning from a subsidized coverage period to a normal COBRA coverage period.

Recently, the Missouri Western District Court acknowledged an employer’s effort of “good faith” compliance, evidenced by implementing a COBRA notice tracking program, which provided an ability to show documentation and proof of the mailing of correspondence. This statement further confirms the value that TravisCobra and WebCOBRA may have in a case where penalties for non-compliance with COBRA requirements are being sought.

Effective June 1, 2010, the ARRA language, ARRA posters, and “Request for Treatment as an Assistance Eligible Individual (AEI)” will not be included automatically in the default letters prepared by TravisCobra^TM and WebCOBRA for individuals with a qualifying event on or after June 1, 2010.

For the past several months, Travis’ developers have been working on significant improvements to WebCOBRA On Demand that are now either in the final stages of development or in our Quality Assurance/Testing process. The efforts have been delayed by the repeated changes to COBRA and ARRA over the past months which have required “all hands on deck” efforts by our staff to produce releases for you very quickly.

Even with all the ARRA releases, we have made progress on programming these major new improvements. They are now scheduled to be added to WebCOBRA over the next few months, and are close enough to delivery that we wanted to tell you about them.

On March 2, 1010, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (“ARRA”) was amended by the Temporary Extension Act of 2010 (H.R. 4691) (the “Act”) which, among other things, extends eligibility for the COBRA premium subsidy through March 31, 2010. The Act also includes a measure that extends premium assistance to eligible individuals that had or have a reduction of hours between September 1, 2008 and March 31, 2010 but did not elect COBRA coverage due to that qualifying event, and that later incur an involuntary termination of employment on or after March 2, 2010. Plan Administrators have new election period and notice responsibilities for such individuals.

President Obama signed an extension and expansion of the COBRA premium subsidy into law on December 19th, giving existing COBRA qualified beneficiaries who had qualified as Assistance Eligible Individuals (AEIs) an opportunity to receive as many as six months of additional premium subsidy, and providing new QBs with up to 15 months of the 65% subsidy.

While Congress is considering extending the COBRA Premium subsidy provided by ARRA there remains the possibility that January 1, 2010 will come and go without ARRA being extended. If no extension is enacted, those who have qualifying events in 2010 will not be eligible to become Assistance Eligible Individuals (AEIs) under ARRA, as ARRA only provides for subsidy for those who have qualifying events between September 1, 2008 and December 31, 2009.

The Department of Labor has released model COBRA notices designed to help COBRA Administrators comply with ARRA, the 2009 stimulus.

As we’ve covered, the House and Senate have passed two differing bills for the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (the Stimulus Bill). Both contain significant changes to COBRA Administration, and while the bill could change radically in the next few days, here are our interpretations of the two bill’s differences.

Last Updated: 02/13/2009

Since the House version of the bill and the Senate version of the bill are different, the law has not yet been passed by Congress. The two chambers will send their bill to a conference committee, where they will hammer out their differences and produce one final bill for the President to sign.

Last Updated 2-13-2009