Share
As mentioned in our prior COBRA update, the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) provides for government-subsidized COBRA premium payments. The subsidy is available to COBRA qualified beneficiaries who become eligible for COBRA due to either a reduction in hours or involuntary termination of employment during the period April 1, 2021 through September 30, 2021. These COBRA qualified beneficiaries are referred to as “assistance eligible individuals” (AEI).
Special notice requirements apply concerning the COBRA subsidies, including a subsidy expiration notice that plan administrators or insurers must provide to an AEI before the subsidy ends.
The subsidy expiration notices are due no more than 45 days and no fewer than 15 days before the date that the COBRA subsidy will end for the AEI. For current AEIs, this means that the notice must be provided by September 15, 2021 to reflect the end of the COBRA subsidy period on September 30, 2021. The Department of Labor has published a web page that includes a model Expiration of Premium Assistance Notice. Note that the subsidy expiration notice is not required if the COBRA continuation coverage is terminated due to eligibility for another group health plan or Medicare.
The subsidy expiration notice should be provided immediately, even if the September 15 deadline has passed. As a reminder, failing to comply with COBRA’s requirements, including the notice requirements under ARPA, could result in significant liability for your organization. If you have questions about your organization’s obligations under COBRA and/or ARPA, or for compliance assistance, please contact any of our Labor, Employment Law, and Employee Benefits attorneys
This blog/web site presents general information only. The information you obtain at this site is not, nor is it intended to be, legal advice, and you should not consider or rely on it as such. You should consult an attorney for individual advice regarding your own situation. This website is not an offer to represent you. You should not act, or refrain from acting, based upon any information at this website. Neither our presentation of such information nor your receipt of it creates nor will create an attorney-client relationship with any reader of this blog. Any links from another site to the blog are beyond the control of Pullman & Comley, LLC and do not convey their approval, support or any relationship to any site or organization. Any description of a result obtained for a client in the past is not intended to be, and is not, a guarantee or promise the firm can or will achieve a similar outcome.
About Our Labor, Employment and Employee Benefits Law Blog
Alerts, commentary, and insights from the attorneys of Pullman & Comley’s Labor, Employment Law and Employee Benefits practice on such workplace topics as labor and employment law, counseling and training, litigation, union issues, as well as employee benefits and ERISA matters.