Yes. Most Zane Plans are subject to COBRA requirements for companies with over 20 employees, whereas they must allow employees and/or dependents to continue their coverage after termination - if the employee pays the cost themselves. Companies with less than 20 employees are not subject to these COBRA requirements.
Employer's COBRA Responsibilities
Employers must give terminated employees the option to continue coverage for a period after termination, and may charge the terminated employee up to 102% of the cost of this coverage (including the amount of their allowance, the administrative fees and an additional 2% for administering COBRA participation).
For most purposes, terminated participants who have elected COBRA coverage are treated exactly like current, similarly situated employees. They should continue to receive allowances and have the ability to submit new claims just like a current employee. If the plan for current employees is changed or terminated, the change affects any current COBRA participants in the same way. The key difference is that the employer may charge the terminated participant and/or dependents for the cost of their coverage.
If You Offer a GroupHRA
If the employee participated in both a GroupHRA and a group health insurance plan while employed, the employer may require that the terminated participant elect COBRA coverage for the group plan in order to elect COBRA for the GroupHRA. In other words, the employer may give the terminated participant the options of electing:
- No COBRA
- COBRA coverage only for the group health insurance, or
- COBRA coverage for both the group health insurance and the GroupHRA, but need not give the participant the option of electing COBRA only for the GroupHRA.