And the beat goes on...

[tjmist]

What is the name of your state? Ohio

Does one sign a COBRA form when one actually wasn't terminated/unemployed?

I work for a company and we are contracted out to another company which has batched employees for better insurance rates. I was out on a short term disability. Evidently the contracted employer (legal) has policy that an employee can only be out for 30 days and at that time he loses his insurance benefits, even though the parent company continued to pay my premiums. I was out for 8 weeks and on the parent company's disability.

I do not feel comfortable in signing a Cobra form stating I was not employed when I, in reality was. I've searched for the right answer to this. At another forum they told me to sign it and then pursue it. Guess I've always been taught to "watch" where I sign on the dotted line and wonder what good it will do after the fact.

My contracted employer says I just need to sign this form and return it, and then they will take care of any insurance claims that happened during that 30 day period. I think there was only two and even though someone should pay for these two claims, it's the idea of me signing a document saying I was not employed just doesn't set right within my convictions. This company says I wasn't employed, what will Cobra say? My parent company says sign it, otherwise I lose the insurance for those 30 days. How is that when they paid them premiums?

I work with detail in that I do the payables for several small corporations, keeping track of the daily sales with varied reports etc. Along with that I am kind of jack of all trades, constant phones, sales people, vendors and disruptions and dealing now with the loss of sight in my right eye which is causing problems for me at my job which I've had for over four years.

I am worried that by signing this form now..that somehow in the future when I really might need it something will go terribly wrong. How can one sign her signature to something she doesn't feel is legal? (I think they screwed up somewhere and need a way to cover their tracks) Does it matter to COBRA if more than one form is signed within a close time proximity? Is it always available for those 18 months with or without acceptions?

Any advice out there?

 

[cbg]

COBRA is for ANY time you lose benefits, not just for when you lose employment. You can be put on COBRA if you go from full time work to part time work. There's nothing whatsoever illegal about signing a COBRA form while you're still employed. While I haven't seen the form you are being asked to sign, most COBRA forms I've seen do not state outright that you are no longer employed, since there are a number of situations, including the one you're in, in which you can be on COBRA and still be employed; nor does signing such a form imply that you are saying you are not employed.

Did the form actually say in so many words that you were not employed? Because that's unusual, in a COBRA form. Usually they have a number of boxes that you check off the reason for your having lost benefits. In your case, it would be a leave of absence.

 

[tjmist]

Ohio-

Yes, under qualifying events they have already checked the box: End of Employment, with me as the employee and the coverage at 18 months. Leave of absence was not an option.

I've never received Cobra before and just do not want to do anything that will be considered wrong such as fraud for a good example.

Considering this is a contracted employer and it would seem to me that my parent employer would have a signed contract somewhere. But that still doesn't go along with the stubs of the disability checks that I received.

I'm not wanting to sue anyone..

I guess I need to know how to contact their offices and it's such a conglomerate site that I don't know exactly which area to approach.

Thanks for your words..

 

[cbg]

Actually, I go through this with unemployment forms all the time. The real reason doesn't show as an option so you have to go with the one that comes closest even if it isn't accurate.

There's no question of fraud here. You're not going to be sued for fraud and so far, you haven't posted anything to indicate you have reason to sue anyone.

 

[tjmist]

Thanks cbg. I appreciate your responses. It's helped, truly.

This has probably just happened at a very bad time, and when it comes to understanding a lot of the legalities of laws..absorbsion isn't my greatest thing at the moment! I just need to be informed and not confused.

As I told my HR guy, and my boss, I wasn't going to sign and fax off anything until I understood the forms. It was everyone's impending urgency that started me. They probably didn't get this off in time for the insurance administrator or something?

An aquaintance mentioned seeing a lawyer, as I shouldn't have to sign something that I felt was not accurate. I don't have the $$ to waste.

Again. Thank you.

 

[cbg]

It is to YOUR benefit as well that this be handled quickly. 9999 times out of 10000, when an employee no longer qualifies for benefits for whatever reason, their insurance coverage is cancelled until after they complete the COBRA forms AND submit their first payment. While the coverage is then reinstated retroactively so that there is no break in coverage, it is obviously easier for you that you don't have claims initially denied and later have to be resubmitted and so on.

I honestly think an attorney would be overkill. This is unlikely to be the first time they've had to use the closest possible option when the actual reason doesn't exist on the form. It truly doesn't sound like anyone's trying to set you up, frame you, or otherwise get you into any kind of trouble. I've just seen this kind of thing too often.