Learning COBRA in the time of COVID-19

Without a doubt, Employers (fiduciaries) and their insurance Brokers lean on expert guidance now more than ever when it comes to the many aspects of HR compliance. This is certainly the case with the newest Federal legislation that works in conjunction with Federal COBRA -- the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) of 2021. 
What is ARPA? 
​The ARPA, is a Federal law, executed by President Biden in March, 2021, and was purposed to address the COVID-19 pandemic disaster relief on a national level. The law creates new challenges within the employee benefits industry, and the 100% COBRA Premium subsidy program that comes with ARPA, creates new ARPA compliance details Employers have to carefully consider. 

Under ARPA, the Assistance Eligible Individuals known as AEI's include certain COBRA qualified beneficiaries.
What is the ARPA 100% COBRA Premium Subsidy? 
Assistance Eligible Individuals -- enrolled into COBRA during the subsidy period, will receive 100% government subsidized COBRA premiums.  On a high level, that may seem fairly straight forward, but the underlying administrative duties that come with ARPA are complex in nature. 

The COBRA subsidy must be carefully tracked, and comes with a laundry list of fiduciary requirements such as: 
  • Notifying all AEI's of their COBRA Election Rights with corresponding Subsidy Notices
  • Tracking new election periods, including extended election periods. 
  • Auto-enrolling AEI's currently on COBRA into the subsidy from April 1 through September 30, 2021. 
  • Providing accurate plan options and allowing certain AEIs to change medical plans, add back eligible dependents, and report eligibility accurately to carriers. 
  • Keeping records of all notifications with proof of mail. 
  • Sending timely subsidy expiration notices and regular ongoing COBRA premium bills following subsidy period.

How CobraHelp Can Help You Tackle the ARPA Subsidy

CobraHelp has taken steps to rapidly implement ARPA compliance tools and processes to address the complexities that come with the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) premium assistance during the COBRA subsidy period from April 1, 2021 through September 30, 2021. 

Our COBRA service packages during the Premium Assistance Period include everything required to properly notify, enroll, and track all subsidy eligible individuals during the subsidy period. Most of these services are provided at no additional cost to our customers, as we understand that the pandemic has already financially impacted businesses on a national level. We understand COBRA during COVID isn’t the most ideal situation for any company, big or small, so we're here to help you through these unprecedented times.