Travis Software Corp announced current and future software features designed to manage the rising postal rates now facing employers and third-party administrators.
With postal rates up to 41 cents per ounce as of May 14, and with the thickness of what you mail adding to the cost of postage for the first time, managing your COBRA correspondence is more important than ever, says Alan H. Williams, founder and President of Travis Software Corp. Since the U.S. Department of Labor mandated that the Cobra General Notice be at least six pages and the Cobra Election Notice is sometimes as much as 20 pages long, these letters have required more postage than before.
WebCOBRA.com includes several capabilities designed to help manage postage costs. A brief list of the features already in the system is provided below:
1. Duplex Printing is a standard feature in WebCOBRA’s Enterprise Edition. It allows for Cobra letters to be printed on both sides of the paper with a printer capable of doing so, and can reduce costs of paper as well as postage.
2. The ability to email COBRA letters and forms once the Cobra Election Notice has been sent and the QB has certified that he/she would like to receive future correspondence via email is a standard capability of WebCOBRA.
3. The Bulk Correspondence Printing capability sorts all printed COBRA letters into zip code order, prints a barcode on the address block that is machine-readable by the Post Office, and is designed to allow for volume-based postal discounts on your COBRA letters.
The next major release of WebCOBRA, targeted for summer 2007, is designed to reduce the number of pieces of paper printed by a system, reducing weight, thickness of the envelope and paper, toner and postage cost, says Williams. For instance, out of about 30 new features, one is the capability of deciding whether or not to print a separate HIPAA Certificate for each QB in a QB Group, as is done now, or combining all of the QBs in one QB Group into one HIPAA Certificate.
WebCOBRA.com now has over 125 TPAs and as many employers using the system for COBRA administration. The system has been available over two years.
Travis offers ways for Employers to Manage Rising Postal Rates
Current, Future Editions of WebCOBRA Can Reduce Weight of COBRA Correspondence
