COBRA

The Federal Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act (COBRA) gives workers and their families the right to continue group health insurance after the active employee coverage has been terminated due to one of the following qualifying events:

  • Voluntary or involuntary job loss
  • Reduction in hours worked
  • Transition between employment
  • Death of a loved one
  • Divorce or separation
  • Spousal loss of benefits
  • Loss of “dependent child” status

Federal COBRA generally applies to all private-sector group health plans maintained by employers that had at least 20 employees on more than 50% of its typical business days in the previous calendar year.  Both full-and part-time employees are counted to determine whether the plan is subject to COBRA.  Each part-time employee counts as a fraction of a full-time employee, with the fraction equal to the number of hours worked divided by the hours an employee must work to be considered full time.

Pennsylvania State Mini-COBRA extends health care options to workers and their families whose coverage was terminated for one of the following qualifying events:

  • Death of the covered employee
  • Termination of employment (voluntary or involuntary) (but not for the employee’s gross misconduct
  • Reduction in hours
  • Divorce or legal separation
  • Eligibility for Medicare
  • Dependent child ceasing to be a dependent

Pennsylvania State Mini-COBRA generally applies to all private-sector group health plans maintained by employers that have 19 or less employees.

Sponsoring employer responsibilities include:

  • Terminating the active employee benefit coverages
  • Communicating to Alera Group when an employee becomes a COBRA qualified beneficiary by completing and submitting the COBRA Beneficiary Qualifying Event Form(click to fill online)

Alera Group responsibilities include:

  • Providing the Federal COBRA initial notice to the sponsoring employer for distribution to employees
  • Developing the COBRA qualified beneficiary qualifying event notice
  • Managing the COBRA election period
  • Reenrolling the COBRA qualified beneficiary onto the group health plan upon receipt of executed COBRA election notice
  • Collecting premium from COBRA qualified beneficiary and remitting premium to sponsoring employer
  • Monitoring maximum benefit period and terminating coverage when applicable or upon request
  • Developing annual renewal request for information

Alera Group COBRA fee schedule:

COBRA MONTHLY FEES
Total Average Number of Employees Federal COBRA PA Mini-COBRA
0-20 $25 / Month $25 / Month
21-50 $40 / Month N/A
51-75 $65 / Month N/A
76-100 $85 / Month N/A
Contract Duration - 1 year annually renewable
Broker partners compensate at $5 per employer per month

To establish Alera Group COBRA administrative services:

Please direct COBRA related questions to AIA_admin@aleragroup.com or Teresa Warfield at 717-506-3234.

Additional resources: