If you are an Employer with at least 20 employees, you fall under what they call Federal Cobra. Folks, this is NOTHING to mess with. The “compliance” issues related to Federal Cobra are very specific and they are VERY confusing. We call it the OSHA of Health Insurance. When an employer is attempting to administer Federal Cobra themselves, or having their HR people handling it…..they are taking on a HUGE liability.
Basically COBRA is the extension of the Employee Benefits, specifically Health Insurance, when employees leave your employment. There are steps that HAVE to be taken when people leave employment, notifications, wording within the notice, etc…..Like I said, any deviation from that, or non-compliance, will result in THOUSANDS of DOLLARS in fines, which accrue daily.
At Brauer Insurance Services LLC, we understand the risks when employers attempt to do it themselves. One of our FREE services is our COBRA administration. We relieve employers of the liability associated with COBRA administration. We pay for a TPA (Third Party Administrator) that handles COBRA compliance and all the issues that surround COBRA. The TPA handles the notifications, filings, archiving, etc…..TOTALLY relieving the business of liability.
We make a really good commission on Group Employee Benefits….we believe in giving back a little. We also pay for an Employee Assistance Program (EAP) for the group, and an HR Workplace Compliance Center that allows our Employer Groups to speak to an HR Attorney with workplace and employment issues.
Our motto and tagline is “To Protect and To Serve”…..that’s how we do business. As a former Police Sergeant, I am very familiar with the whole Protect and Serve concept. I know that all of our Employer Groups are completely covered and compliant!
COBRA is nothing to mess with. If you offer Group Benefits or Employee Health Insurance, YOUR broker should be making sure you are covered…..If they tell you that the insurance company is covering your COBRA, and you are over 20 employees…Shame on them, cause its going to be YOU, Mr. Employer that ends up in the hot seat….not your broker.
ERISA law is very specific, the “fiduciary” responsibility is with the EMPLOYER, unless you contract with a TPA to handle the administration…..it’s as simple as that!
Do yourself a favor and call Brauer Insurance Services, we can make sure you are compliant, have all the HR tools you would ever want, and even provide you with access to an Employment Attorney…..AT NO COST !!
Steve Brauer-Brauer Insurance Services LLC, 3150 Almaden Expwy, Suite 203, San Jose, CA 95118. (408) 421-5555