USERRA and COBRA

Riley

We have our first ee who is in the reserves to be activated. His orders state he will be gone at least a year. I know there are things we have to do (escelator principle, starting up insurance with no waiting period, etc.) My question is how does your company handle the COBRA? Do you act like they are terminated and have them pay 100% of the premium, or do you act like its a leave of absence and continue to pay the percentage you would for a current ee (ours is 80%)? I am leaning towards paying the 80%. For one, this ee is the only ee we have that is currently a reservist. Two, he has already stated he could not afford to continue to pay the whole premium. I know there is tricare available for his family, but we are not located near a military base, and drs who accept this coverage are few and far between out here.

I know the risks are great in paying as he is current, but I feel this is the least we can do for this ee and future reservist to come.

What does your company do with COBRA and military leave?

Parabeagle

What does your current policy provide for? Ours treats military leave as any other unpaid leave of absence (with the little quirks the USERRA throws in) and provides for COBRA at the time they become COBRA-eligible. It's generous of you to want to continue the insurance while he's deployed, but whatever you do you should make sure it's consistent with your policy and that you're willing to live with your choice -- he may be your only reservist now, but that's no guarantee he'll always be the only reservist you have. Notwithstanding our current problems, military ops have more and more relied on the reserves to fulfill manpower requirements. I suspect you'll see lots of reservists deployed in the years to come. Personally, I spent FAR more time on active duty between 1990 and 1999 (a total of 3.5 years) than the standard one weekend a month and two weeks every year (much to the chagrin of my employers).

Don D

Technically, under USERRA, employees on military leave and their dependents may apply for extended health coverage for up to 18 months, similar to that offered under COBRA. The cost of the coverage is also similar to COBRA coverage, although extensions are not permitted with multiple qualifying events as with COBRA.

For the first 31 days of military leave, an employee is not required to be responsible for the cost of coverage beyond his usual share, if any, for such coverage. But, for the extended period of coverage from 31 days to 18 months, an employer can charge up to 102% of the full premium.

Although USERRA does not require the employer to notify the employee of the availability of the extended coverage, it would be helpful and sensible for the employer to provide a written notice so the ee knows his election rights.

Also, when the serviceman/woman returns to employment, he and his dependents are automatically reinstated in the health plan, no waiting period, no exclusions. But, remember that if he/she is service connected disabled to any degree, the VA, not the employer's plan, is responsible for health benefits and services to the extent of that disability, and, while in the service, the employer's plan will not be paying medical costs for the serviceperson, the Pentagon will. So, it's his/her family members who will most likely benefit from continuation.

One website you may want to check out is [url]http://www2.dol.gov/elaws/userra0.htm[/url].

I too would recommend not making related decisions based on emotion. Carefully consider and weigh what the company might want to do for the serviceman/woman in light of establishing precedents going forward. I understand the desire to do all one can in this regard; but, make sound business decisions.

Riley

It turns out the ee didn't know he could have coverage for his dependents under the reserve's insurance (tricare). He found out that he could get better coverage for a much cheaper price through tricare than he could having COBRA rights. After chasing my tail most of the morning, we discovered what he didn't know about his coverage while active but, not before deciding to cover COBRA like we would any person taking an extended leave of absence (ee pays all of premium).

Thanks guys for the replies!
Riley

Don D

Well, the man certainly can't accuse you of not addressing his situation. Seems to me that you took it by the tail and did what you could on his behalf.

Pork

"WHOA"....I advise that you go the COBRA route! Your ee/serviceman/person is fully covered by military medicine and his direct family is also covered by CHAMPUS which is far superior to your coverage. You will be waisting premium paid on their behalf. We place the ee on Military leave of absence and he/she and family are offered COBRA coverage. Our premium is $807.50 per month and in all cases the family chooses and the individual chooses to drop the medical coverage until they return. The administrator is informed of the MLA status of the employee and they know how to administer the ee's involvement. Upon return the ee/and family are immediately picked back up on the first day of the next month after they have returned.

I suggest you go to [url]www.dol.gov/vets[/url] and print out a copy CHAPTER 42--EMPLOYMENT AND REEMPLOYMENT RIGHTS OF MEMBERS OF THE UNIFORMED SERVICES. THERE IS LOTS OF GOOD INFORMATION THERE.

PORK

Leslie

I just had an employee deployed, and he'll be on a 12-week military leave, that we treat much like FMLA. Then his benefits will expire but he will remain on the rolls. We have a flex benefit program (125) that he wants to continue. Do I COBRA that also?

Leslie

Not that it makes much difference, but we provide 120 hours of military pay per year - used to be for weekend warriors, but guess now they'll be doing a lot more than that. We will pay it out at 10 hours per week for the next 12 weeks so his health insurance premium and flex benefit are covered for that length of time.