Boca Benefits Consulting Group Inc.

Many employers are struggling to determine the precise COBRA requirements under the 2009 ARRA. Employer size, state situs of the benefit plan, specific state actions, and other things, effect the answers. In addition, where certain responsibilities have been placed on carriers, their unique administrative decisions may also drive procedures.

Below is a link to a Frequently Asked Questions (i.e., FAQ) piece on this subject provided by United Healthcare. Although some of it is specific to their own client base, much of it provides generic information that benefits professionals might find valuable as they weave their way through the huge number of variables.

This subject may also be something that in-house and contracted financial professionals need to address. Who pays the 65% COBRA subsidy and how it is ultimately recovered are key items.

Non-benefit HR types may also want to spend some time with the definitions of eligibles. Although this appears at this point to be a short-term program, the costs of which are recoverable as a credit against future payroll tax liability, certain CEO’s may want to minimize participation due to the hit on quarterly cashflow or if the company is clearly in such dire straights that a payroll tax recovery may not be viable.

Link to FAQ Resource

During the first quarter of 2009, BBCG Inc. was sidetracked more than expected by me taking on the responsibilities of Chairman, Governmental Affairs Committee, Clearwater (Florida) Regional Chamber of Commerce.  We will reprint an article I wrote for publication in the Chamber’s Voice of Business bi-monthly newsletter which provides more detail. In a nutshell, with the support of a small steering committee over the course of the last three months, I have established six standing task forces which are now each headed by an extremely talented volunteer from the community. Between the six, we have attempted via broad mandates, to address all the issues our membership told us were of most concern to them in a fall 2008 survey. We have also tasked two of the task forces to address specific items that public sector officials have brought to us as quick-fused issues requiring immediate action.

It has been my intention as the President of BBCG Inc. to design and build the Chamber task force infrastructure, identify and install six high quality leaders, and then back off from the intense front-end effort and refocus on the requirements of BBCG’s employee benefits work.

With most of the pieces now in place, I will strive to be more proactive in making valuable posts to this blog.

Respectfully,

Bob Murphy, REBC, ChFC, CLU, RHU, MBA