We are not COBRA. For specific contract details about your current company policy, contact your health plan administrator.
In Reply to: Why Cobra so Gung-Ho? posted by Todd on July 15, 2004 at 04:44:41:
I am with an employer, so I will tell you my thoughts from the other side. (However I will also say that I myself am very lenient and courteous with my cobra participants. But I don't send invoices.)
Cobra is a large burden on employers. The people who usually are on cobra tend to be the ones using it, meaning they are sick, unhealthy, or injured and they are driving up the claims experience, which makes our plans cost more for everyone. There is also a lot of work involved with cobra, and we don't get paid for it, unless you count the measly 2% administration fee, but that $5 a month doesn't begin to cover the hours of work I have to do each month.
I have the legal responsibility to provide you with the coverage, but I don't have to babysit you. I have enough work to do without creating invoices each month. I am not in billing. (I will say that I send a stack of coupons when someone enrolls, so they do have something to remind them to send it in.) If your insurance is important to you, as it should be, then it shouldn't be difficult to remember to pay for it.
I will be honest, I can see that companies would be harsh, because we don't want people on cobra on our plans. The sooner they are off, the less impact they will have on our rates. We pay thousands and thousands of dollars per month, per year for our plans, and it just keeps going up. And the more use the plan gets, the more it will cost us, and cobra people typically use more services than non. Unfortunately it does all come down to money. And until we have a healthcare system that isn't broken, I think it will continue to be that way.