COBRA

Important Update

Chard Snyder has transitioned COBRA to their UnifyHR platform.

Eligibility

Under a federal law called the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act (COBRA), you and your eligible covered dependents may continue your group health benefits when your coverage is lost due to a qualified life event, including:

The death of a covered employee
The termination of an employee (not considered gross misconduct), or the reduction of hours of a covered employee's employment
The divorce of a covered employee from the employee's spouse
A covered employee becoming entitled to Medicare benefits under title XVIII of the Social Security Act
A dependent child losing eligibility

COBRA Premiums

Here is what you need to know and do

The covered employee or qualified beneficiary must notify UVA HR of an employee’s divorce or child’s loss of dependent status within 60 days of the event in order to be eligible to elect COBRA
Apply yourself, your spouse, and your dependent children (if applicable) for coverage under COBRA following the qualified life event.
Make monthly payments to UnifyHR (our COBRA administrator) to keep your coverage.
Keep UnifyHR informed of any family member address changes.
UnifyHR can provide up-to-date monthly rates upon request.

Length of Coverage

You may continue coverage for a maximum of 18 months after a qualified life event. COBRA coverage for you and your dependents only extends from the first qualified life event (if you have more than one).

In some cases, maximum coverage may exceed 18 months:

Termination or reduction in hours while disabled (as determined by the Social Security Administration) - 29 months for you, your spouse, and your dependent children.
Divorce or annulled marriage - 36 months for your spouse and your dependent children who were covered under the plan.
Dependent child no longer qualifies as dependent - 36 months for your dependent child.
Death - 36 months for your spouse and your dependent children who were covered under the plan at the time of your death.

Cost of Coverage and Enrollment

Review the letter of notification you receive (if any) from the COBRA Administrator regarding the amount you owe and when your payments are due. No additional notices will be sent.
Important for current employees: Calling UnifyHR to get rates before terminating? Make sure to tell the UnifyHR representative at the beginning of your call. Otherwise, they will see you are not on their terminated employee list and will tell you that you are not eligible for COBRA.
UVA Health plan members pay 102% of the premium (total cost of plan coverage for a participant), in accordance with procedures permitted by applicable law. (Coverage is only provided if self-payments are made on time and in full.)
If you have a medical expense at a time when you have not made payments, no claims will be paid.
You must make all premium payments before being reimbursed for covered expenses.