Laid-off URA-AFT Member Gets Her COBRA Subsidy

By Sharon Cramer

[Note: a fact sheet about COBRA has been prepared by AFT and is online at http://www.ura-aft.org/downloads/COBRA.pdf]

This is good and useful information for URA-AFT members who have been laid off and are eligible for the COBRA Premium Reduction under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA). I received the packet in the mail, from the State Division of Pension and Benefits, to apply for the COBRA subsidy.

I filled out all that was required according to the information and mailed it in, on the same day, April 30, 2009.
On May 30, I received my next COBRA bill in the mail, and it was still for the full amount. First thing on Monday morning, I called Division of Benefits, and they passed me on to the COBRA office, within the Division (609-292-3939) where I spoke with Valerie, who was extremely helpful.

She brought up my record on the computer system, and to make a long story short, because of being on “Recall Status”, they had me in the system as being on a “Leave of Absence” and not laid off, therefore, making me supposedly, ineligible for the COBRA Relief.

In the packet, there was a form called “Assistance Eligibility Request Form,” which states that if you were already enrolled in COBRA, you only had to fill out this form and mail it in. However, I found this was not true.

According to the COBRA office, the application that was sent with the assistance request form has different wording, so that new application has to be filled out by Human Resources at Rutgers, and mailed in.

I saw Barbara Crimmins at Rutgers UHR, who also bought me up in the HR computer system at Rutgers; I was also listed as “Leave of Absence” because of the 18 month recall status. She was able to change my status in the Rutgers system, and fill out the new application.

I then faxed the new application and another copy of my “Assistance Eligibility Request Form” back to Valerie at COBRA, to correct my information in the State system, therefore making me eligible. I will also get credit back to March 1, 2009.

If you have sent in the “Assistance Eligibility Request Form”, and your next bill arrives with the full amount, do not assume that the paperwork was not yet processed. Please follow through like I did.

Editor’s Note: Under the terms of the URA-AFT contract, laid off members are listed by Rutgers as employees for thefull 18 month recall period. This protects their seniority for purposes of benefits, sick and vacation accumulation and pension service if they return to Rutgers. Signed union members are also considered active members and are able to maintain their AFT membership + benefits, including medical and life insurance, credit counseling, credit cards and merchant discounts.