TravisCobra Release 6.4 is Coming!
We're finishing the testing of Release 6.4 of TravisCobra for Windows and TravisCobra/CS right now, and are going to be sending you your copy of that new release during the next month.
We'd like to tell you what's in this new release. Here's a synopsis of the major new features in Release 6.4 - a more detailed description is found in the "What's New In This Release" portion of the documentation update that will come with the software CD.
Payments - the handling of premium payments that are deficient is brought into accordance with the IRS COBRA Regulations which took effect for qualifying events after January 1, 2002. Additional prompts and user messages on the screen are displayed, and deficient premium letters have been modified to reflect the new Regulations for premium shortfalls that are "insignificant."
Check Printing - the System will now print checks to Plan Sponsors/Insurance Carriers for COBRA premiums due them. A Custom Check Writer has been added so the System will print checks in the format you want (stub on top, stub on bottom, etc.) and you'll be able to decide what information appears on the check and on the stub.
Benefit Plans - have been enhanced so that they may "end" at a certain time and are no longer available to PQBs. Also Age Rated Tables have been modified so that a rate change may be effective either at the anniversary date of the next Plan Year or when the PQB has a birthday.
HIPAA Coverage Certification Enhancements - the "First Day of the Waiting Period" may now be added to the Certificate of Creditable Coverage when it prints.
PQB Enhancements - Family members stored in the System who have their own COBRA qualifying event may now be transferred into their own PQB record via the new Add From Family button. Also, you may now customize the relationship description for Family Member records.
Family Members - records stored in the DOL module (used to print the DOL Model Notice when they were first hired) will now automatically transfer with the PQB record when a qualifying event occurs.
Automatic Processing (Letter Production) has several improvements:
- The system now has the capability to print a BarCode on the letters and payment coupons
- A new letter, Termination Notice to Carrier, has been added
- New Macro's have been added which you can insert into many of the letters for "Last Day of Cobra Coverage", "Coverage Period End Date" and "Next Premium Due Date."
Reports - have also been improved. On multi-employer systems you can choose, if you prefer, to restart page numbering with each employer. Also, margins can be adjusted for envelopes, and a new report, Voucher Plus, is similar to the present Voucher Report except it sorts by Benefit Plan.
You now have a choice of using the "Proof of Mailing" report or the "Certificate of Mailing Plus" report to document what COBRA letters you mailed and to whom. The Certificate of Mailing Plus is designed to conform to the requirement of most U.S. Post Offices (they don't all agree on the same form) and serve as a proof of mailing they will accept and certify.
The "DOL Module" for printing the Initial COBRA Notice, has been significantly enhanced. You can now sort the DOL Notice Reports alphabetically or by date printed, you can include the spouse's name in the postal address or you can have the system print a separate letter to spouses.
The Downloading Module has been improved and expanded to allow the importing of additional fields, specifically employer subsidy fields and eligibility dates for specific plans.
These are the highlights - there are more new features, all of which are fully described in the documentation that will come with the new release CD.
The process for installing this new release and future updates has also changed, very much for the better, we believe. Here's what we mean: You won't have to call Travis Support to get an "access code" for installing the upgrade, as has been the requirement for past releases, so the upgrade process will be much easier than in the past.
In a departure from past procedures, Travis is also going to be adding features to our systems on an ongoing basis and will be making those new features available for downloading via the Internet from our "FTP Site." This change will
- make new capabilities available to you sooner,
- make them much easier to implement, and
- allow us to update your copy of the system more responsively if laws, regulations or court cases require it.
The FTP Utility we've developed is smart enough to learn what release of TravisCobra you're on and "know" what updates to deliver to you in order to bring you up to the latest revision level. And documentation will be attached as part of each update as an Adobe Acrobat file so you can update your User's Manual.
It's all coming very soon, and we're making sure now that the new release will work correctly, no matter whether you have the standard Paradox-file version of TravisCobra for Windows or the client-server version, TravisCobra/CS.
We think you'll like Release 6.4 when you get it, and appreciate your continuing support of Travis and our COBRA/HIPAA system.
Contact Info:
Travis Software
Garth Williams
Vice President
(281) 496-3737