Does COBRA oversight exist?

[lynnevan]

What is the name of your state? Idaho

My COBRA insurance was canceled due to late payment. That is not the issue.

The company I worked for took +/- 47 days to inform me that COBRA had been terminated. During that time I had medical expenses that I might have forgone if I
had known my COBRA insurance was terminated.

I'm not seeking financial redress or attempting to sue anybody. But those 47 days
plus the retroactive 30 days pinpointing the termination date pushed me over the 60 day uninsured time limit wherein hippa kicks in.

My ex-Company's behavior was either unbelievably inefficient/incompetent, or they just didn't care and have no responsibility as regards time limits for informing
someone their insurance has been canceled.

My question: Is there a COBRA Oversight Committee or Agency I can bring this information to that has the power to apply some kind of sanction to the company
for their thoughtless behavior?

 

[cbg]

The US DOL is the regulatory agency for COBRA.

However, the law does not require that you be notified at all of the termination. Notices, when provided, are done as a courtesy, not as a mandate.

If you submitted your payment late, or not at all, it is reasonable for you to assume that coverage will be cancelled.

 

[lynnevan]

I knew that my coverage was terminated. I don't need to assume anything.

It's the first part of you answer that I'm interested in. You say COBRA administrators are not even required to inform me of termination?

In a letter to me, terminating an appeals procedure that they instigated!! (true), I quote:
"As is required, XXXXXXX provided you with notice of the termination as soon as was practical."

This "as soon as was practical" is what ticks me off, coming 51 days after the act of termination, retroactive another 30 days, making me w/o insurance well over 60 days.

As far as I have been able to find out, the DOL only requires that I be notified of my eligibility in a timely fashion, and after that, they have no oversight or regulatory duties.

I read somewhere the Dept of the Treasury is also involved in some part of COBRA.

It seems impossible there is no responsibility defined for timely notification of termination!!

Can you suggest any other sources of information in this respect?

Thanks for any info at all.

lynnevan

 

[cbg]

I have been administering COBRA since it was first signed into law, and I have never heard of the Department of the Treasury being involved in any way,

I am not aware of any agencies that can help you or any agencies that will punish the employer for not giving you what you consider timely notification. As I said, you can assume that if you make late payment that termination is going to happen.

 

[lynnevan]

Thanks for the response cbg,

As I said in the first line of my first post:

"My COBRA insurance was canceled due to late payment. That is not the issue."

If I find that reference that included the Dept of the Treasury's connection to COBRA I will post it to you.

As a COBRA administrator of great experience, would you be willing to explain why:

With all the lamentations about so many people w/o health insurance COBRA administrators have and use the power to increase the number of the uninsured at the minimum opportunity?

Rather than tell me a 3rd time that if I don't make a payment I can assume my coverage will be canceled, explain to me the obvious disregard for medical expenses incurred by the uninformed terminated COBRA 'client' - Why the callousness and indifference to the detrimental effects COBRA administrators can have; because they are not required by law to inform the terminated client?

Also you might explain why COBRA administrators are so anxious to lose clients. The COBRA insured are paying their own way plus 1 or 2 percent for administrative costs. Is the administration really so onerous and costly that that percentage represents a loss for the company administering COBRA?

I am truly curious and would appreciate any explanation that might clarify some or any of these moral mysteries.

Thank you for any answer you may give,

lynnevan

 

[lynnevan]

bga said:

I have been administering COBRA since it was first signed into law, and I have never heard of the Department of the Treasury being involved in any way,

As promised, here is information confirming the interest of the Dept of the Treasury -

http://www.dol.gov/ebsa/faqs/faq_consumer_cobra.HTMl

What is the Federal Government's role in COBRA?
COBRA continuation coverage laws are administered by several agencies. The Departments of Labor and Treasury have jurisdiction over private-sector health group health plans. The Department of Health and Human Services administers the continuation coverage law as it affects public-sector health plans.

The Labor Department's interpretive and regulatory responsibility is limited to the disclosure and notification requirements of COBRA. If you need further information on your disclosure or notification rights under a private-sector plan, or about ERISA generally, telephone EBSA's Toll-Free number at: 1.866.444.3272, or write to:

U.S. Department of Labor
Employee Benefits Security Administration
Division of Technical Assistance and Inquiries
200 Constitution Avenue NW, Suite N-5619
Washington, DC 20210

The Internal Revenue Service, Department of the Treasury, has issued regulations on COBRA provisions relating to eligibility, coverage and premiums in 26 CFR Part 54, Continuation Coverage Requirements Applicable to Group Health Plans. Both the Departments of Labor and Treasury share jurisdiction for enforcement of these provisions.

I continue to believe there must be an agency that can review COBRA administration. I shall keep looking.

In the meantime, I am still interested to answers to my previous post.

Thanks,

lynnevan

 

[momm2500]

Cobra

why then dont you contact the department of labor then?

http://www.dol.gov/ebsa/compliance_assistance.html

 

[lynnevan]

why then dont you contact the department of labor then?

http://www.dol.gov/ebsa/compliance_assistance.html

Very sincere thanks!!

lynnevan

 

[cbg]

Which is exactly what I told you in my first response.