COBRA Rights
The Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act (COBRA) is a federal law that gives you and your covered dependents the right to continue group health coverage on a self-paid basis when you are no longer eligible for employer-sponsored coverage.
Notice Requirement
COBRA requires that you provide notice to HR, hrbenf@uark.edu, within 31 days of a covered dependent losing eligibility for coverage. No HR notification is required when employees lose their eligibility through termination or change in employment status; departments just enter the end of employment or change of employment status into the UA payroll system.
You are eligible for up to 18 months of COBRA coverage if:
- You chose to terminate or are terminated from university employment
- Your hours of employment at the university are reduced to the extent that eligibility for employer-sponsored medical benefits would ordinarily be lost
You are eligible for up to 36 months of COBRA coverage if:
- You are an eligible dependent of a university employee who dies while employed
- You are the divorced spouse of an university employee
- You are a child of a university employee who loses eligibility for dependent coverage due to age and loss of dependent status
You are NOT eligible for COBRA continuation if:
- You are covered by another group health plan at the time of the qualifying event
- You or a dependent later become covered by another group health plan
- You were dismissed for gross misconduct
You may continue any or all of your medical, dental and/or vision insurance, as well as your healthcare Flexible Spending Account. You and each of your enrolled family members are entitled to make separate decisions to continue coverage.
The COBRA enrollment deadline is 60 days following the date of a qualifying event or the date on which you receive notice from UMR, whichever is later.
Upon your end of employment, HR notifies UMR (health coverage), Arkansas Blue Cross Blue Shield (dental coverage) and/or EyeMed Vision to cancel your coverage effective your last day of employment.
HR notifies the university's COBRA administrator, UMR, that you left university employment. UMR contacts you about your rights to continue your coverage under COBRA. You have 60 days to contact UMR and elect to continue with COBRA coverage from whichever date is later:
- The date of a qualifying event
- The date on which you receive notice from UMR
Once you contact UMR to continue coverage with COBRA, you have 45 days to make your first premium payment, retroactive to the date your plan ended. The insurance company will reinstate your coverage retroactive to the date coverage ended after being notified by UMR that you have paid your first premium. You will experience no break in coverage, and any denied claims can be reprocessed for payment.
Enrollment Steps
- Respond to notification from UMR and enroll in COBRA within 60 days of notification date.
- Make the first COBRA payment to UMR no later than 45 days from your COBRA election date. Your first premium is retroactive to the date your plan ended.
- Re-submit any claims that were denied during the period when your coverage was canceled.
The insurance company will reinstate your coverage retroactive to the date coverage ended after being notified by UMR that you have paid your first premium.
All rates are subject to a 2% COBRA administrative fee.
| Coverage | Health (Classic Plan) |
Health (Health Savings Plan) |
Health (Premier Plan) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Individual Coverage | $493.50 | $428.42 | $747.38 |
| Individual and Spouse | $1,152.54 | $974.98 | $1,766.64 |
| Individual and Child(ren) | $923.28 | $803.02 | $1,395.56 |
| Individual, Spouse and Child(ren) | $1,591.92 | $1,360.46 | $2,436.84 |
| Two-party Rate e.g., Spouse and Child(ren) | $923.28 | $803.02 | $1,395.56 |
| Coverage | Vision (Basic) |
Vision (Enhanced) |
Dental |
|---|---|---|---|
| Individual Coverage | $4.69 | $9.48 | $32.00 |
| Individual and Spouse | $9.31 | $18.74 | $66.00 |
| Individual and Child(ren) | $9.11 | $18.37 | $55.70 |
| Individual, Spouse and Child(ren) | $13.85 | $27.92 | $89.70 |
| Two-party Rate, e.g., Spouse and Child(ren) | $9.11 | $18.37 | $55.70 |