The New Final Regulations were recently issued, changing and clarifying many COBRA requirements. The duty and burden to administer COBRA falls to employers, most of which do not have the expertise to properly handle this area. To further complicate the burden placed on employers, continually changing case law makes the obligation of staying in compliance a daunting task.

If your organization cannot document specific proof of compliance with all aspects of COBRA, you can be held liable for ERISA fines of up to $110 per beneficiary per day of noncompliance with no family maximum. In addition, the IRS may fine companies up to $200 per family per day of noncompliance.

While these fines and penalties may be substantial imposing a severe financial burden on many companies, the ultimate liability is that non-compliant employers may be responsible for all medical bills and legal fees incurred by eligible employees and beneficiaries.

Administrative Burden
Outsourcing administration of services makes perfect sense for many businesses. Outsourcing allows staff to focus on and contribute to core, revenue-producing areas of business. Administrative functions that add cost and burden are easy to outsource and allow companies to significantly reduce the burden associated with these administrative functions.

HR Solutions - CPI

You need solutions. CPI can help with your COBRA compliance needs. You supply us with company information, employee data and information about your group benefit plans. This will allow us to set up your company as a CPI client.

After this, all you do is notify us whenever a Qualifying Event occurs. We take care of all required notifications and communications to the qualifying individuals. We document all communication to demonstrate proper compliance and even handle premium collections.

Finally, after verification, we will forward a report and premiums for COBRA continuants to your company.

Our clients:

· Provide initial information on your company, employee and group benefit plans.
· Notify CPI whenever a Qualifying Event occurs
· Use your report to forward information to insurance carrier with premium payment.

Our goal is to make compliance with COBRA as simple as possible for our clients.

At CPI, we archive all records that document COBRA compliance including initial notifications, qualifying event notices, envelopes, (to document date of communication), communication from continuants and proof of mailing documents.

Here is a sample of what we do:

• Audit/assume current COBRA continuants
• Provide all clients with a COBRA folder, explaining responsibilities for notifying CPI in the event of a Qualifying event and providing compliance with important TAMRA rules
• Send Initial Notification to existing employees to ensure compliance
• Handle notification of beneficiaries of COBRA rights using U.S. Post office Proof of Mailing manifest
• Provide grace period reminders to continuants
• Answer inquiries from clients, continuants or third parties concerning the COBRA election period
• Issue all correspondence regarding COBRA discontinuation and conversation rights
• Manage disability extensions
• Handle all premium collection and reconciliation
• Send client reports and collected premiums
• Update systems based on new case law.