COBRA Administrators
Jump to: COBRA Administrator Directory
Employers are responsible for offering COBRA continuation coverage to eligible employees when their group health insurance ends. This responsibility is most often managed by the HR department. Some employers may use a third-party benefits company to assist with administering COBRA.
Your COBRA Administrator Helps With
- Notifying the employer’s group health insurance carrier of the employee’s termination within 14 days.
- Sending election notifications to workers within 30 days with instructions on how to enroll in COBRA continuation.
- Assisting with the enrollment process.
- Receiving premium payments and processing cancellations.
How Employers Administrate COBRA
If you’d like a detailed understanding of the responsibilities, records and notifications a business must maintain for COBRA Administration, visit the Employer’s Guide to COBRA.
Third-Party Administrators
Many employers use third-party administrators (TPAs) to manage employee benefits. TPAs handle services such as COBRA administration, health plan management, and claims processing to help employers stay compliant with federal requirements.
The COBRA law allows third-party administrators to charge an extra 2% to the premiums for their administration services.
Below is a directory of common TPAs that employers may work with.
Administrator Responsibilities
If you are “on COBRA”, you are using and paying for your most recent employer group health insurance after it would have stopped due to a qualifying event. A COBRA plan administrator is responsible for:
Critical Administrator Continuation Deadlines
A COBRA Administrator’s first responsibility is to notify the employer’s group health insurance carrier of the employee termination within 14 days.
Next, the plan administrator sends election notifications within 30 days containing instructions on how to enroll former workers and their families in a continuation of their former work health insurance plan.
Some employers may find it time-consuming or confusing to manage former employee COBRA plans and enrollments. The COBRA law allows third-party administrators to charge an extra 2% to the premiums for their administration services.
Non-Compliance May Incur Fines By The IRS
The administration of COBRA insurance can be complex. If timelines for notifications are missed, the company providing the insurance may be fined by the IRS up to $200/day for non-compliance.
Frequently Asked Questions
- Notifying the employer’s group health insurance carrier of the employee’s termination within 14 days.
- Sending election notifications within 30 days with instructions on how to enroll in COBRA continuation coverage.
- Assisting with the enrollment process.
- Managing premium payments, including collecting payments and processing cancellations.
- Application and enrollment support
- Account setup and management
- Providing cost and plan details
- Processing payments and reimbursements
- Handling address changes
- Verifying proof of insurance
- Managing plan cancellations
