While you’re making your list and checking it twice – don’t forget to consider your business and specifically your HR team. Are COBRA struggles bogging you down or placing your business at risk?

Below are five COBRA administration gifts to give your business in 2013. 

1. Airtight COBRA Notices: Did you see our COBRA blog article about the employer who paid $83,063.45 in fines and legal fees for failing to provide the appropriate COBRA dental notice? Don’t let this happen to you! New IRS guidelines are in place and many expect COBRA crack-downs to follow. Be ready with a systematic approach and solid proof of mailing – or a reliable COBRA administration partner. 
2. COBRA Education: If you’re managing COBRA administration in-house, you have your hands full trying to keep up with all of the rules and regulations involved in COBRA administration, Mini COBRA – not to mention the new healthcare law. It’s easy to get overwhelmed. But the more you arm yourself with knowledge, the better you’ll be at staying on top of things – and staying out of hot water. Don’t forget that COBRAGuard now offers continuing education courses for insurance and HR professionals to keep you informed. 
3. Better COBRA Bookkeeping: If you inadvertently leave a past COBRA participant on the carrier bill, it could cost you thousands of dollars in health insurance overpayments. It happens more often than you might think. This is a good time of year to audit your COBRA documentation against your group health insurance carrier invoices. And don’t procrastinate – you only have 60 days to notify a health carrier of an invoicing error. After that, you could be left holding the bag for the overpayment. 
4. COBRA Continuity: Some companies inevitably make a huge HR mistake this time of year. They forget that their COBRA administration service is provided by the health insurance carrier, and when they cancel a plan, the COBRA administration service goes away too. The lesson? Proactively manage COBRA decisions during open enrollment so you don’t have to start the new year dealing with the headache of discovering you have no COBRA administration plan in place. 
5. COBRA Efficiency: Many employers have discovered that outsourcing COBRA administration is much more cost effective than trying to manage it in house. If you haven’t outsourced yet, now is the time to consider making the move. With PPACA changes underway, your HR team has a lot to think about besides COBRA.

Happy Holidays from the Team at COBRAGuard!