In the News!

Congress Introduces another ARRA Extension Bill

Senators Sherrod Brown (D-OH) and Bob Casey (D-PA) introduced the COBRA Subsidy Extension and Enhancement Act (S. 2730) last week in the U.S. Senate. The proposed bill would amend the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA) to extend the eligibility period and maximum period for COBRA premium assistance. Currently, eligibility for the nine-month subsidy is limited to individuals who have been involuntarily terminated from employment on or after September 1, 2008, through December 31, 2009 and who lose coverage during that period.

The original provision in the ARRA established a nine month subsidy to help laid-off workers purchase COBRA coverage, with the federal government covering 65 percent of the health premium.

The COBRA Subsidy Enhancement Act (S. 2730), would extend the subsidy an extra six months to 15 months and increase the subsidy amount from 65 percent to 75 percent of the workers premium. The current COBRA continuation coverage only covers laid off workers, however, S. 2730 extends the subsidy to workers whose hours are reduced and are no longer eligible for employer sponsored health benefits.

This new legislation will also extend the time in which workers become eligible for the subsidy by six months, to June 30, 2010. Currently, only workers who become unemployed in the next two months are eligible for the subsidy.

"eCOBRA is working diligently to stay on top of news and updates on the possible extension. It's important that we continue to provide our clients peace of mind knowing our staff and systems are ready for any changes that comes our way, "said Jon Meyer, Director of Human Resources and COBRA. "We were on top of the ARRA legislation back in February, and it won't be any different if and when this new legislation passes."

eCOBRA is a division of eflexgroup and national Third Party Administrator (TPA) of COBRA, pre-tax employee benefits, HRAs, HSAs, and Cafeteria Plans. Founded on the idea that administration of benefit t plans should be easy, eflexgroup/eCOBRA is a different kind of TPA. With a customer focus and Lean Six Sigma quality tools, we are creating the highest standards of customer service in the TPA market. Our COBRA expertise and compliance provide the ultimate peace of mind.

Congress Introduces ARRA Extension Legislation

Representative Joe Sestak (D-PA), a member of the House of Representatives Education and Labor committee, introduced the Extended COBRA Continuation Protection Act (H.R. 3930) on October 26, 2009. The proposed bill would amend the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA) to extend the eligibility period and maximum period for COBRA premium assistance. Currently, eligibility for the nine-month subsidy is limited to individuals who have been involuntarily terminated from employment on or after September 1, 2008, through December 31, 2009 and who lose coverage during that period.

According to Sestak, the new subsidy would extend the total allowable time individuals could receive the COBRA subsidy by six months (from nine to 15 months); the subsidy to individuals who are involuntarily terminated between January 1, 2010, and June 30, 2010; and eligibility for traditional COBRA coverage an additional six months (from 18 to 24 months) for individuals who were terminated at the beginning of the recession in 2008.

Under the proposed legislation, individuals who were enrolled in the original COBRA subsidy since February would continue until at least May 2010.

The bill has not yet passed, however, Jon Meyer eCOBRA's Director of COBRA and Human Resources states, "Our goal in the COBRA department is to make sure our staff and clients always know what is happening with the ever changing COBRA world. eCOBRA's focus is 100% compliance in all aspects of legislation. When changes come we are ready, and most importantly, our clients are protected."

eCOBRA is a division of eflexgroup and national Third Party Administrator (TPA) of COBRA, pre-tax employee benefits, HRAs, HSAs, and Cafeteria Plans. Founded on the idea that administration of benefit t plans should be easy, eflexgroup/eCOBRA is a different kind of TPA. With a customer focus and Lean Six Sigma quality tools, we are creating the highest standards of customer service in the TPA market. Our COBRA expertise and compliance provide the ultimate peace of mind.

eflex Wins Another National Honor

June 23, 2009, Madison, WI- eflex received national honors for the second time this year at Lighthouse1's annual conference and forum, Revolution09. The conference, held at the Hilton Hotel in Bloomington, Minnesota is the software vendor's biggest event of the year, bringing together industry experts and health care providers from across the nation.

eflex and its 80-plus employees were recognized with the night's most prestigious award, Partner of the Year. Award winners were recognized for reaching various significant milestones throughout the past year. The Partner of the Year award specifically recognizes excellence in employer and participant satisfaction, growth, and service excellence. The award was accepted by company founders and CEOs, Ric Joyner and Tom Jacobs, who were joined by eflex President, Steven Funk and handful of eflex staff members.

Funk explains, "eflex is a great company with a tremendously dedicated staff. We're happy to be part of a successful industry that provides benefits to so many people. We've worked very hard to get where we are today and have faced many challenges. Being recognized again for our achievements among so many industry giants is truly humbling."

This award comes at a somewhat bittersweet time for the company, in the midst of Senate talks to eliminate the flexible spending industry to fund health care reform. "We're really excited about our award win, but it comes at a time when we're working diligently to prove to the Senate that our industry has real value. We help make health care more affordable to the 1 in 6 Americans who participate in flex plans. We also provide jobs and health care benefits to more than 80 people. We're growing, and hiring at a time when many companies are downsizing and letting staff go. This award just reiterates our success as a company," adds Ric Joyner eflex Co-founder and CEO.

eflex was also honored in January at the International Lean Six Sigma Process Excellence Awards. The Madison-based company beat out a variety of companies including Wal-Mart, Capital One, and Allstate, for their implementation of the Lean Six Sigma program. By using the Lean Six Sigma program (which can be applied to virtually any business) eflex was able to increase profits, employee efficiency, morale, and offer their customers world-class service. eflex provides excellent services to thousands of clients locally and across the country, including: CKE Restaurants, Famous Footwear, GUESS?, MG&E, and Obama for America.

Senate Finance Committee Recommendation Will Result in Tax Increases, Loss of Benefits

The senate finance committee recently discussed a proposal which would have dire consequences on a thriving industry and leave Americans facing increased taxes and loss of benefits.

At eflex, we typically don't take a stance on these types of industry or market-related circumstances. However, in a situation like this, we must speak up due to its direct impact on us, the community, and the nation. We are compelled to make citizens aware of the impact of the proposed reform and encourage everyone to express concern to their senators and congressman.

On May 20, the Senate Finance Committee met in Washington to outline options for potential health care reform designed to fix the amount of uninsured in this country. The document issued is titled, "Financing Comprehensive Health Care Reform: Proposed Health System Savings and Revenue Options." In this document, the senate outlines a variety of options which include repealing, capping or reducing the employer-exclusion and eliminating pre-tax benefits like flexible spending accounts (FSAs), health savings accounts (HSAs), and health reimbursement arrangements (HRAs).

There are currently over 48 million Americans participating in flexible spending accounts, and hundreds of thousands working in the flex spending industry. Taking away these benefits and closing the industry would have a devastating effect on thousands locally, and across the country. Millions would lose pre-tax benefits that help them pay for out-of-pocket medical expenses, daycare, and health insurance.

In addition employers will be forced to increase employee costs because of a proposed reduction or elimination of the health insurance tax credit. Health insurance costs to employees will become exacerbated coupled with the fact that they lose the pre-tax savings on health expenses, insurance premiums, child care etc. All of these negative effects will come about to fix roughly 15% of the population that do not have health insurance. The Senate is going to negatively impact the 85% that have insurance and affect the 48,000,000 employees who use FSAs, HRAs and HSAs.

Contact your local Congressman or Senate to voice your opinions about this proposal.

For more information about the Financing Comprehensive Health Care Reform: Proposed Health System Savings and Revenue Options please contact us or visit: http://finance.senate.gov/sitepages/legislation.htm.

DOL releases COBRA Model Notices

Companies dealing with American Recovery & Reinvestment Act ARRA COBRA changes can find help with eflex.

President Obama's American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) of 2009 has been a hot topic recently. Businesses were aware changes were coming February 17, 2009 when President Obama signed ARRA into law. Many business owners didn't know how difficult these new rules could be to understand and how drastically they could be affected by them. Business owners across the country are experiencing great amounts of stress trying to comply with the new rules. A lack of understanding could mean severe penalties, and costly legal fees with the IRS and Department of Labor, among others.

With Obama for America as one of its COBRA clients, eflexgroup.com (eflex) a Madison, WI based company, felt added pressure to know every detail of these changes. The company's employees put in many extra hours, and even in a time of huge job loss, added staff to take on the additional workload.

As experts on COBRA and the new legislation, eflex recently hosted a series of very successful Webinars for over 900 listeners across the nation. As a result, its company CEOs have been asked to speak about the COBRA regulations at the National Association of Health Underwriters (NAHU) National Convention in New York City this June. They will also be keynote speakers at a number of insurance related association meetings throughout the year.

"During these trying economic times, it's more important than ever for companies to protect their reputations and avoid any undue stress. We want businesses to know that they have a resource in eflex, we have the knowledge to help them comply with the new ARRA COBRA regulations," said Steven Funk, eflex President. "Many businesses are finding that these changes have made it nearly impossible to continue administering COBRA in-house and are looking to outsource but don't know where to turn," he added.

eflexgroup.com Takes Worldwide Honor

January 22, 2009, Madison, WI- eflexgroup.com(eflex) received 2nd place honors in the International Lean Six Sigma 2009 Process Excellence Awards. The Award Ceremony, held in Orlando, Florida recognized companies worldwide who have achieved outstanding process improvement methods using Lean Six Sigma quality tools. eflex was recognized alongside such companies as Capital One, Wal-Mart, Allstate, Ecolab, and Delphi. eflex took the 2nd place award for Best Start Up Program.

eflex began implementing Lean Six Sigma in 2008. The program is designed to improve workflow processes, and identify and eliminate potential flaws. Each level of Lean Six Sigma mastery is indicated by a different colored belt. Jeffry Cox, Director of Touch points at eflex, is pursuing his Black Belt Certification; the highest level of Lean Six expertise. By implementing and mastering this program, eflex has increased profits, employee efficiency, morale, and offered their customers world-class service.

"This award is an honor that our entire company can feel proud of," said Cox. "eflex has always been a company that put its employees and customers first," he added. "Learning quality improvement methods through Six Sigma has shown us how to do that; it's made all of our lives easier. Our internal infrastructure is strong and our customers are delighted by our service and attention."

Click here for more about the Lean Six experience at eflex.

eflex is pleased to announce the promotion of Steven Funk to President.

Steve joined the finance department at eflex in 2005. He was then named Chief Financial Officer (CFO) and later added Chief Operations Officer (COO) to his achievements. Steve will continue to maintain his CFO and COO roles under his new position as company President. Ric Joyner and Tom Jacobs, company founders and co-owners will maintain their roles at eflex in executive leadership positions.

Steve was educated at the University of Minnesota, and is presently earning his MBA. He also brings with him more than 15 years experience in leadership and management positions.

"This decision is in line with our vision to take the company from its entrepreneurial roots to the next level, a company in growth-mode." said Ric Joyner. "We were looking for a leader with a different set of skills than Tom and I have as entrepreneurs, and we have found that leader in Steve Funk," he added. "Steve's knowledge, dedication, and experience have prepared him well to succeed in his new role as President."