Travis Software Official Blog

Since the beginning of 2011, in only 6 short weeks, Travis has added nine new features and capabilities to WebCOBRA®, making it even more efficient and beneficial to your COBRA administration needs. These recently released enhancements fall in the categories of general functionality, letters/notices, and reports.

Recently released enhancements include…

The “Letter Preferences App” is the newest addition to WebCOBRA. Utilizing the InstaData Web Service, this app allows users to remove unwanted letters and re-order correspondence before they print.

With the InstaData Web Service, users can easily access WebCOBRA data for any purpose they choose. The Web Service gives users access to live data, giving users a data source to write custom reports or other integration programs, with an “IT Friendly” interface.

With the Letter App, Travis has now gone beyond simply providing the real-time data to actually creating a convenient desktop tool for users. The Letter Preferences App specifically allows users to “re-download” letters from a previously accepted correspondence batch, choose which letters to print, and apply custom sorting and grouping parameters.

Most COBRA issues that result in litigation are settled prior to trial, and in those cases there is no public record of a judge’s rulings. A recent COBRA-related case actually went to trial and the ruling issued by a Federal District judge confirmed that the letters generated by Travis’ systems were “precise” and “unambiguous.” The case is Ratcliff v. Psychiatric Solutions, Inc., 2010WL 2814418 (W.D. La., July 16, 2010).

On April 15, 2010, Congress passed and the President later signed the Continuing Extension Act of 2010 (the “Act”) that extended to May 31, 2010 the eligibility for the 65% premium subsidy for COBRA premiums for individuals that incur an involuntary termination of employment on or before that date. Prior to this Act, the eligibility time period for the COBRA premium subsidy expired on March 31, 2010. This Act modifies the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA), which was amended by the Temporary Extension Act of 2010 earlier this year.

Travis Software Corp. is working now on updates to both WebCOBRA On Demand and TravisCobra^TM to help you meet the requirements of this new law.

[Updated 4/26/2010] We plan to have the new release of TravisCobra^TM delivered to TravisCobra^TM Users on Tuesday, April 27, 2010. The new release of WebCOBRA On Demand will be implemented and available to WebCOBRA On Demand Users by Thursday, April 29, 2010 at 8:00 a.m. Additional testing was required for these updates to include the new ability to access and edit the ARRA Summary Letter and Request Form (as published by the DOL).

If you are using TravisCobra and you want to reprint ARRA notices, you can follow the steps below.

For a Group of PQBs:

If you are using WebCOBRA and you want to reprint ARRA notices, you can follow the steps below.

For a group of QBs: