New AZ miniCOBRA
Starting January 1st, 2019, small employers in Arizona offering certain employee benefits such as group medical, dental, and vision insurance will be required to offer continuation of coverage for 18 months to employees separating employment under the new law. This is very similar to traditional COBRA (Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act) where it applies to companies with 20 or more employees and employers must follow. The Arizona law will require small businesses with one or more covered employees to follow almost the same rules.
The law sets out the provisions for notifying qualified beneficiaries of their rights (within 30 days) and the qualifying beneficiary’s requirement for accepting coverage (within 60 days) and making ongoing payments.
Here are some important things small employers will need to remember: In order for an employee to be eligible, they must have been covered under the employees plan for at least 90 days. If the employer changes plans (or if the premiums change) as they frequently do during annual enrollment, any qualified beneficiary will have the same options to change plans as any other employee would.
Employers must notify participants 30 days prior to a plan benefit or premium change. This can be a difficult area for employers to navigate, but with BASIC, we’ve got you covered. BASIC’s new mini-COBRA administration service protects your company from potential violation fees due to non-compliance.
BASIC mini-COBRA Service Highlights:
Your mini-COBRA Certified Account Representative brings you experience, attention to detail, timeliness, and utmost level of service
• Online event submissions and reports
• Qualifying event letters for all qualified beneficiaries
• Management of mini-COBRA elections
• Premium billing and collection
• Documented proof of election, payment dates and untimely submissions
• Balance due and termination letters
• Takeover of existing mini-COBRA participants
(Additional fees apply)
• Payment coupons and toll-free support
• Data security, documentation safeguards, and business continuity in the event of a natural disaster or system outage
To remain compliant and stress free, request a mini-COBRA proposal by clicking here!
