COBRA - Voluntary to Employer?

[waid10]

Can an employer voluntarily offer COBRA even if it is not required (i.e., there has been no qualifying event)?

My employer is making a health survey a requirement for eligibility. If I refuse to complete the survey, I will not have fulfilled the eligibility conditions, and then cannot enroll in the plan. If I am dropped from coverage due to not fulfilling the eligibility requirements, it is not a COBRA qualifying event, but can my employer voluntarily offer me COBRA?

[leevena]

I don't know your situation in full, but I'll give you some feedback as comments.

1. You need to be covered under the plan in order to be eligible for COBRA. Sounds like you may not be covered yet. (Your question indicates that your are currently enrolled and it indicates that you cannot enroll.)

2. Never heard of being required to take a health survey in order to be eligible. Does this mean the employer has developed a survey for their own use, or is this an underwriting form that the carrier is requiring? Underwriting form could be required if allowed in your state, but an employer survey as part of eligibility is something I have never heard of.

3. Some states have taken on "state cobra" coverage requirements. Depending on where you are and what size your employer group is, there may be other issues.

Good luck.

[waid10]

Part of continuing eligibility within the Plan is to complete the health survey (from a third party vendor). None of the survey results will be shared with the employer. However, refusal to complete the survey will result in the employee being dropped from coverage. Even though the loss of coverage is not for a COBRA qualifying event, can the employer voluntarily offer COBRA?

[Larry M]

Waid10,

if you are asking whether an employer can allow you to pay the full premium, plus any administrative fees, and continue to be covered by his plan, in a manner similar to a COBRA option, my answer would be "Yes, if the employer also likes to commit financial suicide, and if it is not an insured plan whose contract forbids such an arrangement.".

[Mary C]

Is is permissable under HIPAA to condition coverage on the completion of a survey?

[leevena]

This is the strangest thing I have ever heard in my 25 years in this business. I believe that the bottom line is that the employer cannot base eligibility on the completion of the survey. That said, I am not an attorney, so I am not an authority. As for allowing you to continue as a COBRA, there are many outstanding questions, such as is there a limit on the time you could be a COBRA participant? If that is the case, you are only delaying the real problem of no coverage.

As for the HIPAA question, I don't believe HIPAA applies to this type of scenario. It essenntially requires that certain types of personal information be kept confidential and only used for certain things. Since your survey is to be kept confidential, it may not violate the law.

You might want to search out a legal opinion.

[leevena]

Just thought of something after I signed out of the last reply. You stated that the survey was through a 3rd party vendor and that the information would not be shared with your employer.

What if you completed it with incorrect information? That way you provided them with a response, kept your coverage eligibility, and did not give them any personal information. I would not go overboard with the information, just keep it simple and believable.