All human resources professionals need to stay up-to-date on the latest changes in legislation and processes. Just because the benefits in your organization have not changed does not mean there has not been changes to COBRA. All employees are eligible for COBRA when they are let go. Understanding eligibility and compliance is extremely important and can affect your office’s efficiency if even one team member is not on-board. If it is time to schedule COBRA training for HR departments, learn how to choose the best training so all of your specialists are equipped to handle processing or to answer COBRA questions.

What Do You Need to Learn

Being COBRA compliant is not as easy as it may sound. With all of the changing rules and regulations, you need a proper understanding of legislation, procedures, and even design options if you do not want to fall victim to court cases. To get the most out of your training you need to choose a class that covers a variety of different topics. Look for a course that will cover the laws and will also give you administrative tips so you can run your office more efficiently. Some of the topics that should be covered include:

* Plans that are subject to COBRA
* Who is covered by COBRA?
* The COBRA Notice
* Qualifying events and notices
* Documentation
* The timeline
* Premiums
* Billing and collection
* Termination of COBRA
* Medicare
* Rules and requirements
* Family and Medical Leave Act
* Coverage rules and special circumstances

Who Needs COBRA Training?

Now that you understand what the class should cover it is time to choose a course. You will have to tell the training provider how many participants will be enrolling at the time of enrollment. If you are assessing who needs to enroll in the class you should determine who will handle calls and plans. You should send your benefits and HR managers as well as new staff members. You should also send administrative staff and administrators who work directly with your team.

When you complete training you can keep your team up-to-date so you stay COBRA compliant. Make sure you review the cost of training per employee and choose a provider who will keep you educated and informed whenever new laws are set in force. Improve your areas of weakness in your HR department and choose training classes that will help you make sense of it all.

For more COBRA info take a look at this video from HR Training Center: