Rob Hoskins
03-03-2009, 09:58 AM
Good, Concise Resource for Understanding COBRA Continuation Provisions of Stimulus Package
If you regularly handle ERISA cases, like me, but not from the perspective of advising employers about compliance then there is not a whole lot of reason, that I can discern, to actually read all of the portion of the COBRA continuation coverage provisions of the January stimulus package. Since I am not going to advise any employers on how to comply with the law, I do not feel a need to have an intimate knowledge of that law at this time. However, I am certain that I will get some questions from individual clients about what their rights may be. Therefore, I certainly am going to have to have a working knowledge so that I can answer basic questions. In order to obtain that “working knowledge”, I would recommend recent posts by the Department of Labor and the Internal Revenue Service regarding the law. According to the DOL website:
“The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA) provides for a 65% reduction in COBRA premiums for certain assistance eligible individuals for up to 9 months. An assistance eligible individual is a COBRA “qualified beneficiary” who meets all of the following requirements:
▪ Is eligible for COBRA continuation coverage at any time during the period beginning September 1, 2008 and ending December 31, 2009;
▪ Elects COBRA coverage (when first offered or during the additional election period), and
▪ Has a qualifying event for COBRA coverage that is the employee’s involuntary termination during the period beginning September 1, 2008 and ending December 31, 2009.”
Complete links to the full DOL post and the IRS post are:
1) DOL: http://www.dol.gov/ebsa/cobra.html
2) IRS: http://www.irs.gov/newsroom/article/0,,id=204505,00.html
If you regularly handle ERISA cases, like me, but not from the perspective of advising employers about compliance then there is not a whole lot of reason, that I can discern, to actually read all of the portion of the COBRA continuation coverage provisions of the January stimulus package. Since I am not going to advise any employers on how to comply with the law, I do not feel a need to have an intimate knowledge of that law at this time. However, I am certain that I will get some questions from individual clients about what their rights may be. Therefore, I certainly am going to have to have a working knowledge so that I can answer basic questions. In order to obtain that “working knowledge”, I would recommend recent posts by the Department of Labor and the Internal Revenue Service regarding the law. According to the DOL website:
“The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA) provides for a 65% reduction in COBRA premiums for certain assistance eligible individuals for up to 9 months. An assistance eligible individual is a COBRA “qualified beneficiary” who meets all of the following requirements:
▪ Is eligible for COBRA continuation coverage at any time during the period beginning September 1, 2008 and ending December 31, 2009;
▪ Elects COBRA coverage (when first offered or during the additional election period), and
▪ Has a qualifying event for COBRA coverage that is the employee’s involuntary termination during the period beginning September 1, 2008 and ending December 31, 2009.”
Complete links to the full DOL post and the IRS post are:
1) DOL: http://www.dol.gov/ebsa/cobra.html
2) IRS: http://www.irs.gov/newsroom/article/0,,id=204505,00.html