Keel Continuation · COBRA on the clock

The exposure

The deadlines that create liability.

COBRA is a sequence of windows. Miss one, and the penalty, and the uncovered member, are on the employer. Here is the clock.

Step 1

The event

A termination, a reduction in hours, divorce, a dependent aging off. The qualifying event is what starts the whole clock.

Step 2 · the notice

14 + 30 days

The employer has 30 days to notify the plan, then the plan has 14 to send the election notice. Late, incomplete, or never sent is where penalties live.

Step 3 · election

60 days

The qualified beneficiary has at least 60 days to elect continuation coverage. The window has to stay open and the decision has to be honored.

Step 4 · premium

45 / 30 days

Up to 45 days for the first payment, then a 30-day grace each month. Track it wrong and coverage lapses, or reinstates, on the wrong date.

Coverage typically runs 18 months, and up to 36 for certain events. Every one of those months is a premium to bill, a grace period to watch, and a record to keep clean.

How Keel runs it

One clock, run end to end.

The census already lives in Keel, so the moment a qualifying event is recorded, the whole sequence runs itself. Amanda watches every window.

Detects the event

A termination or reduction in hours posts to the census and the COBRA case opens automatically. No form to fill, no vendor to notify, no clock you forgot to start.

Sends the notice in-window

Amanda drafts and sends the election notice well inside the deadline, certified, in the member's language, with the send and the date on the record.

Tracks every premium

Billing runs on schedule with payment tracking and the statutory grace period handled. The member gets reminders, you get a clear status, and lapses are reflected automatically.

Handles term and reinstatement

When a payment posts, coverage reinstates the same day. When grace runs out, the termination is logged on the right date. Either way the record stays clean for the carrier and the plan.

Eligibility and dates, nothing more

It is a deadline engine, not a health record.

Running COBRA is about who is eligible and when, not what anyone's health looks like. Keel works from census and coverage dates. It never touches claims, medications, or diagnoses, because it never needs them.

Census, events, and coverage dates only

SSNs and sensitive fields encrypted end to end

No claims, no medications, no diagnoses, ever

Better together

It runs on the record you already keep.

Continuation does not start from a spreadsheet. It runs on the same census and the same election record as the rest of the suite.

Keel Continuation

The product

See the full lifecycle, from qualifying event through notices, billing, and same-day reinstatement, on one timeline.

Keel Profiles

Feeds the events

The census of record. The moment a termination or reduction in hours posts, the COBRA clock starts, with no re-keying.

Questions

The details.

What events trigger COBRA?

A qualifying event that ends a covered person's group coverage: a termination, a reduction in hours, and life events like divorce, death of the employee, or a dependent aging off the plan. Because the census already lives in Keel, the moment one of these is recorded the clock starts, the election notice is drafted, and every downstream deadline is tracked. Nobody has to remember to kick it off.

Do you send the notices?

Yes. Amanda drafts and sends the election notice well inside the deadline, certified, in the member's language, with the send and the date kept on the record. Late, incomplete, or never-sent notices are exactly where COBRA penalties come from, so the notice going out on time is the whole point.

How does premium collection work?

Premium billing runs on schedule with payment tracking and the statutory grace period handled. The member gets reminders, and you get a clear status. When a payment posts, coverage reinstates the same day. If a payment lapses past grace, the termination is logged on the correct date and the change is reflected automatically, so there is never a gap where a member shows up and gets turned away, or a lapse that posts late.

What about state mini-COBRA?

Federal COBRA generally applies to employers with 20 or more employees. Many states have their own continuation rules, often called mini-COBRA, that cover smaller groups with different windows. Keel runs the same deadline engine against the rules that apply to a given group, so a smaller employer gets the same on-time notices and tracked premiums without you having to memorize the state variations.

What data do you touch?

Eligibility and dates, nothing more. Running COBRA is about who is eligible and when, so Keel works from census, qualifying events, and coverage dates. SSNs and sensitive fields are handled encrypted end to end. Keel never ingests claims, medications, or diagnoses, because the deadline engine never needs them.

Keel Continuation

Run the clock,
never miss it.

See a COBRA case move from qualifying event to reinstatement, every deadline met, with nobody chasing it.

Get a demo Try it yourself · 90 sec

COBRA is a clock you cannot miss.

COBRA on the clock, for every client.

The deadlines that create liability.

One clock, run end to end.

It runs on the record you already keep.

The details.

Run the clock,
never miss it.

The deadlines that create liability.

One clock, run end to end.

It runs on the record you already keep.

The details.

Run the clock,never miss it.

Run the clock,
never miss it.