3 ways you benefit with a third-party COBRA administrator

When you work in human resources, multi-tasking isn’t just part of the job. It is the job! Human resources professionals are skilled leaders in a number of areas within a business, including benefits administration, employee training, development, relations, recruitment, and compensation. 

And, if your business manages COBRA administration in-house, then your human resources team is carrying additional healthcare responsibilities and risk. Choosing a third-party COBRA administrator helps you and/or your HR team focus on the other aspects of running your business while potentially providing a better experience for COBRA participants. Here are a few perks HR teams experience when outsourcing COBRA.  

Ease your workload

A global pandemic. The Great Resignation. HR teams have been focused on crucial tactics to retain their best employees in light of significant disruption. How? They’re improving employee wellness, boosting their employee benefits packages, and offering flexible work arrangements. 

Now just imagine if your HR team had more time to focus on these needs. Taking COBRA off your plate will do just that, since you’ll reduce or eliminate the need to manually:

• Send and receive COBRA paperwork.
• Collect premium payments.
• Submit carrier eligibility to insurance carriers.

Stay compliant

Federal regulations surrounding COBRA require your qualified beneficiaries be provided with informative notices and communications in a timely manner. There are a number of important materials to share and deadlines that must be met.

An experienced third-party COBRA administrator will help you avoid making common COBRA administration mistakes. Find an administrator with automation and integration solutions so key deadlines are hit efficiently and accurately.

Provide a comprehensive experience

COBRA is a complex topic, so it’s not surprising to learn that around half of human resources professionals say their companies outsource some or all of their COBRA.

That same feeling of complexity may also be felt by your COBRA participants. Choosing a third party to manage your COBRA lets you provide the best experience. You can lean on your administrator to provide your participants with helpful tools, such as an online account and mobile app so your participants can access their COBRA anytime and anywhere. And your administrator should have extraordinary customer service specialists adept at answering any questions your participants have.

Staying compliant with COBRA regulations is a must for all organizations. Check out our COBRA page to learn more about the COBRA experience with WEX.

The information in this blog post is for educational purposes only. It is not legal or tax advice. For legal or tax advice, you should consult your own legal counsel, tax and investment advisers. 

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