COBRA Information Page

Use this page to add, update, and delete COBRA benefit records. The COBRA Information page enables you to:

Assign benefits to employees and their dependents.
Add or change notification type and qualifying events codes and their dates.
Set the start and stop dates of a benefit.
Create the initial billing records for a benefit.
Track billing, payment, and delinquency information.

Menu Path: Benefits > Entry & Processing > COBRA Information > Update COBRA Information

Prerequisites

To create a COBRA benefit record, the following requirements must be met:

The employee must have a corresponding benefit record assigned in the Benefit Information page. For example, to add a COBRA record for medical insurance, the benefit must already be assigned. For more information, refer to Benefit Information Page.
A dependent must have a corresponding benefit assigned in the employee's Dependent Benefits Information page. For more information, refer to Dependent Benefits Information Page.
A cost must be entered in the COBRA Cost field of the benefit's table record. For more information, refer to Benefit Codes Table.
Codes must be defined for Qualifying Events and Notification Types tables to document this data in COBRA records. For details, refer to Qualifying Events Table and Notification Types Table.

Page Sections

Following are descriptions of the functions you can perform in the COBRA Information page's sections:

Search Criteria	Enter selection criteria for displaying COBRA records in the List section.
List	Select benefit records to change or delete.
COBRA Information	This section includes three untitled columns:
	COBRA	Fields for adding or changing records for employees and dependents. The first three fields identify a COBRA record.
	Billing	Fields for setting billing amounts, due dates, delinquency dates, and benefit start and stop dates.
	Payment	System-maintained fields. Do not change or delete any of the information displayed.

Adding COBRA records

Select Benefits > Entry & Processing > COBRA Information > Update COBRA Information to display the COBRA Information page.
Click Add New.
In the COBRA Information section's COBRA column, complete the fields identifying the employee, benefit, and dependent (if applicable), and then enter the benefit's status.
If the benefit is for the employee, the employee's Social Security number should be entered in the Dependent SSN field.
Complete the remaining fields in this column as needed.
In the Billing column, enter the benefit's billing information.
In the Payment column, you can skip or tab through the Last Payment, Date Paid, and Total Billed fields. The fields in this column are maintained by the system.
Caution
Do not enter information in these fields, so that the system can maintain payment data properly.
Click OK to save the record.
Depending on the Continuous checkbox, one of the following occurs:
- If the box is blank, you return to the Search Criteria section.
- If the box is selected, you return to the Employee Number field so you can add another record. Repeat Steps 3-7 for each additional record. Click Back to return to the Search Criteria section when you finish.

Updating COBRA records

Select Benefits > Entry & Processing > COBRA Information > Update COBRA Information to display the COBRA Information page.
In the Search Criteria section, enter criteria identifying the records to list, and then click Find. To run an advanced search, use the Advanced button. To access all COBRA records, leave the section blank.
In the List section, select the record to update, and then click OK.
In the COBRA Information section's COBRA and Billing columns, change the fields as needed.
When updating a COBRA record, the Dependent SSN may display in a masked (XXX-XX-9999) format or not at all. This display is based on your security resources and a setting in the Human Resources Profile.
Caution
Do not change the information in these fields, so that the system can maintain payment data properly.
Click OK to save the record.

Deleting COBRA records

Select Benefits > Entry & Processing > COBRA Information > Update COBRA Information to display the COBRA Information page.
In the Search Criteria section, enter criteria identifying the records to list, and then click Find. To run an advanced search, use the Advanced button. To access all COBRA records, leave the section blank.
In the List section, select the record to delete.
Click Delete.
In the Confirmation dialog, click Yes.

Fields

COBRA Information Section

This section includes three untitled columns: COBRA, Billing, and Payment

COBRA Column

The column's first three fields are also Included in both the Search Criteria and List sections. These fields identify a COBRA record and cannot be changed when updating a record.

Fields	Description
Employee Number	ID number of the employee whose record you want to add, change, or delete.
Benefit	Code identifying a benefit in Employee Benefits' Benefit Codes Table. The benefit must be assigned to the employee or dependent receiving coverage under the COBRA record.
Dependent SSN	Social Security number of either the employee or dependent covered by this benefit. The employee's Social Security number defaults to this field. If the benefit is for a dependent, replace this with the dependent's Social Security number. However, the employee/benefit/dependent combination must match a record entered in the employee's Dependent Benefits Information Page. When adding a new COBRA record for an employee this field is available for all users. In the Search Criteria section, the field may not display depending on your security resources. When viewing or updating an existing record in both the List and COBRA Information section, this field may display in a masked (XXX-XX-9999) format or not at all. The display depends on your security resources and a setting in the Human Resources Profile.
Status	Systemdefined code indicating a benefit's status: Select: Active Closed Pending Revoked A COBRA record must have an active status to be selected for a billing in the New Bills Processing Page. Status codes are also used in selecting records for the COBRA Status report.
Qualifying Code	Code identifying an event that qualifies the employee or dependent for coverage, such as a birthday or retirement. This field is optional. The selections on the field's drop-down list are defined in the Qualifying Events Table.
Qualifying Date	Date of the qualifying event. You must enter a date if you entered a code in the Qualifying Event field. Otherwise, leave the field blank.
Notification Type	Code identifying the type of notice sent to the employee on the status of the benefit, as defined in Employee Benefits' Notification Types Table.
Notification Date	Date the notification was sent or is scheduled to be sent. You must enter a date if a Notification Type code is entered in the Notify Type field. Otherwise, leave the field blank.

Billing Column

The fields to the right of the COBRA column are used to track billings and delinquencies. When you add a COBRA record, you also create the initial billing. The system subsequently updates this column whenever you post a billing. For related information on these fields, refer to New Bills Processing Page.

Fields	Description
Current Amount Due	Dollar amount for a COBRA benefit's regular billing. The amount defaults from the COBRA Cost field in the Benefit Codes table. You may change the default amount if needed. If the default is 0.00, enter an amount to the benefit's COBRA Cost field before creating a COBRA record for an employee or dependent. If you need to use a different cost on an ongoing basis, either change the COBRA Cost field in the Benefit Codes table (provided the cost applies to all employees with this benefit) or create and assign a new table record.
Due Date	Date that payment is required. After you set the date for the initial billing, the system updates this field each time you use the New Bills Processing page.
Caution	This field is used to select bills for processing. Do not leave it blank. If you do, the system cannot update the field with the next due date. As a result, the employee will be included in every billing you run for this benefit.
Delinquent Balance	Total amount from past billings that remain unpaid. Leave the field at its 0.00 default, so that the system can maintain the balance. When the next bill for this benefit is processed, the delinquency balance will be added to the current amount due. When a payment is posted, the system subtracts its amount from the delinquent balance first, then applies any remaining funds against the current amount due.
Date Delinquent	Date that payment was due when the employee first became delinquent. You should leave this field blank to allow the system to maintain it. If another delinquency occurs and is added to the original delinquent balance, the original date continues to display until the entire amount is paid, even if the original balance is satisfied. Once the balance is paid in full, the system erases the date.
Start Date	Date that the COBRA benefit becomes active. This date appears in reports but has no effect on COBRA processing. Initially, the system defaults today's date, which you may change as needed.
Stop Date	Date that the COBRA benefit ends. This date is used to select records for the End of Eligibility Listing report.

Payment Column

The fields to the right of the Billing column track payment amounts and maintain running totals of billings and payments.

Fields	Description
Caution	The system maintains these fields based on entries in the Post Payments option. To prevent errors, do not change the values displayed.
Last Payment	Dollar amount of the last payment posted in the Post Payments page.
Date Paid	Date of the last payment posted in the Post Payments page.
Total Billed	Combined total of the Current Amount Due, Delinquent Balance, and Total Paid fields.
Total Paid	Running total of all payments made through the Post Payments option. The total amount paid plus the sum of the Current Due and Delinquent Balance fields must equal the total amount billed. If not, an error message appears in the COBRA Status report.