One source of records keeps a layoff from becoming a cleanup.
Notices, terminations and billing should draw on the same records. Here is why one source cuts errors when headcount changes.
Many lists, many versions.
Several Lists
HR, payroll, carriers and the COBRA administrator each hold their own list of who left and when.
Drift Over Time
Each list is updated by a different person on a different day, so they disagree.
Where It Shows Up
Disagreement shows up as late notices, billing for people who left and questions from employees.
How it plays out.
Most employers have at least four lists of who works there and who is covered: HR, payroll, the carriers and the COBRA administrator. In normal times they differ a little. After a layoff, they can differ a lot.
A single source means choosing one list as the master, usually the enrollment record, and having the others follow it. Changes are made there first, and the others are updated from it.
That keeps notices, terminations and billing consistent, and it gives HR one place to look when someone asks what happened to a particular person’s coverage.
How we help.
A broker should take work off a smaller HR team, not add to it.
Enrollment as the Source
We help make the enrollment record the one the other systems follow.
Billing Checks
We help check carrier bills against the termination list.
Answers From One Place
We help answer employee questions from the same record.
How to set it up.
Choose the Master Record
Pick the system that will hold the final word on coverage.
Route Changes Through It
Make separations there first.
Feed the Others
Send carriers, payroll and the COBRA administrator from that record.
Reconcile Monthly
Compare each list against the master once a month.
Mistakes that cost money.
Fixing Each List Separately
Parallel edits drift apart again.
No Owner for the Master
Someone has to be responsible for the record.
Skipping Reconciliation
Small differences grow if nobody compares the lists.
Related guides.
Right-Sizing HR After Layoffs: The Benefits Workload
The full picture.
Clean Termination Data After a Layoff
Payroll, enrollment and carrier records have to agree after a layoff.
Carrier Terminations After a Layoff
After a layoff, each carrier needs accurate termination dates for every person affected.
Where the Rules Come From.
The laws and rules named on this page link to the statute or regulation they come from. This is general information, not legal or tax advice, and rules change, so check the current text.
COBRA Continuation Coverage (29 U.S.C. 1161)
Requires many group health plans to offer temporary continuation coverage after a qualifying event.
Is HR carrying more than it should?
Tell us what changed, and we will show you what to take off the desk.
Your renewal letter
Your census
Your current plan documents
Your renewal date
Rough answers are fine. We build the numbers from there.
An independent employee benefits consulting firm. We look at the entire benefits program — cost, plan performance, risk and administration.
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