Document and Implement COBRA Procedures

Plan sponsors are probably sick of hearing plan professionals harp on the importance of having and following COBRA procedures, but a recent court case again emphasized the point. An employee sued his health plan stating that he did not receive a COBRA notice. It could have become a he said versus what the plan said situation, instead, the plan received summary judgment. The court found that since the plan had well- documented COBRA procedures, the employer did send the COBRA election notice.

The procedures in place included:

• Proper coding of COBRA eligibility

• Documented information transfers between the plan and the COBRA administrator

• Records of generating and printing notices

Plans should continue to comply with and frequently improve their COBRA procedures.