Issue 23

At UPMC Benefit Management Services, our goal is to take the burden of COBRA administration off your hands by offering simple, streamlined COBRA administration services. From issuing required COBRA notices, to premium collection, remittance, and eligibility reporting, we are equipped with the tools to handle all aspects of your COBRA administration efficiently from start to finish.

Automated Qualifying Event Notifications for UPMC Employer OnLine Users

For clients that have all lines of coverage with UPMC Health Plan and use the UPMC Employer OnLine website, your COBRA-qualifying events can be reported to our team automatically, with no additional steps required on your part.

How does it work?

When submitting a termination of coverage via Employer OnLine (EOL), you will be asked for a termination reason, qualifying event date, and coverage end date. This allows EOL to communicate COBRA-qualifying events to the BMS COBRA team. Any COBRA-qualifying events entered into EOL will be reported to the BMS COBRA team on a file the following business day. The BMS COBRA team will use this file to enter the information into our COBRAPoint system, and the corresponding COBRA notices will be generated the following business day.

How does this help me?

This feature eliminates the need for you to key your COBRA-qualifying events into two separate systems (EOL and COBRAPoint). You will no longer have to key the event a second time into COBRAPoint or complete a spreadsheet with the information to be sent to your dedicated analyst. Simply key the information into Employer OnLine and leave the rest to us!

Want to learn more?

Please take time to review our previously recorded workshop.

How do I sign up?

In order to be eligible for this service, you must have all lines of COBRA-eligible benefits with UPMC (i.e., medical, dental, vision, FSA), and you must also submit your qualifying events in Employer OnLine. If you have any questions or would like to sign up for this functionality, our team of dedicated COBRA analysts will be more than happy to assist you. Feel free to contact your dedicated account analyst at any time or the COBRA department in general at COBRA@upmc.edu.

FAQS:

When can I enter a termination into Employer OnLine?

You can enter a termination as soon as you are aware of the event. The member’s benefits will remain active up through the coverage end date you provide.

When will the COBRA notice be issued?

Once you enter the event into EOL, the information will be reported to the BMS COBRA team the following business day. We will then load the information into our COBRA system, and the corresponding COBRA notice will generate and be mailed the following business day.

Day 1: Client enters event into UPMC Employer OnLine
Day 2: BMS COBRA team receives event information on file and loads into COBRA system
Day 3: COBRA notice is generated and mailed to member

Which of the member’s benefits will be impacted by the termination submitted through EOL?

All benefits that the member is currently enrolled with (i.e., medical, dental, vision) will be terminated and included on the corresponding COBRA notice.

What happens next?

If the member elects COBRA coverage, the BMS COBRA team will bill the member directly for the monthly COBRA premium. We will also report the member’s COBRA eligibility to the enrollment team.

Do I need to submit payment for my UPMC COBRA premium invoices?

No. On a monthly basis, we will remit all COBRA premiums that we have collected from your COBRA members directly to the UPMC Health Plan premium billing department on your behalf.

Why do I still see COBRA premium invoices on my employer portal?

Due to system restraints, we do not have the ability to remove the COBRA premium invoices from your employer portal. Please rest assured that these invoices are for your reference only. You do not need to submit payment, as we are handling this for you.