TLP Announcements
March 2009
Model
COBRA Notices
On February 17, 2009, President Obama signed the American
Recovery and Reinvestment Act (“ARRA”) which included massive,
yet presumably temporary, changes to COBRA. As we have advised
in our E-Alert of February 20, 2009 and our March 6, 2009
Webinar, the principal change here is a mandate for employers to
provide “subsidized premium assistance” for employees and their
dependents who lose health coverage because of involuntary
termination of employment
Today, Department of Labor published Model Notices to assist in
communicating and administering these changes. We have attached
these Model Notices for your review.
As with any model notice, these have strengths and weaknesses
but their use offers a level of comfort that your communications
will at least minimally comply with law. We are reviewing the
Notices and will offer assistance as needed with their use and
tailoring. Their content and uses are as follows:
General Notice. Plans subject to COBRA must send
this Notice to all qualified beneficiaries (employees and
dependents) who lose/lost health plan coverage and became COBRA
eligible between September 1, 2008 through December 31, 2009,
regardless of reason why they lost coverage. This Notice
includes information on the premium subsidy and the typical
COBRA election information.
Abbreviated General Notice. The short form
includes similar information as the General Notice, but does not
include typical COBRA election data. It may be sent in lieu of
the General Notice to persons who had a qualifying event during
on or after September 1, 2008, but elected COBRA coverage, and
still have it.
Alternative Notice. Insurance companies that
provide insured group coverage must send the Alternative Notice
to persons who became eligible for continuation coverage under a
State law. Because continuation requirements vary among the
States, this notice must be heavily tailored to conform to
applicable State law.
Extended Election Period Notice. Plans subject to
COBRA must issue this Notice to any “assistance eligible
individual” (or person who would be if a COBRA continuation
election were in effect) who:
-
Had a qualifying event
from September 1, 2008 through February 16, 2009; and
-
Either did not elect
COBRA, or who elected it but discontinued COBRA.
This notice includes
information on ARRA’s additional election opportunity and
premium subsidy information. This notice must be provided by
April 18, 2009.
If you have any questions about any of the items listed above,
please do not hesitate to contact any of the lawyers at the
Lowenbaum Partnership, L.L.C.
This E-Alert is intended as in informal summary of certain
recent legislation, cases, rulings and other developments. This
E-Alert does not constitute legal advice or a legal opinion and
is not an adequate substitute for advice of counsel. This
E-Alert is not intended to nor does it create an attorney-client
relationship. The choice of a lawyer is an important decision
and should not be based solely upon advertisements. If this
E-Alert is deemed to be an advertisement please disregard this
solicitation if you have already engaged a lawyer in connection
with the legal matter referred to in this solicitation. You may
wish to consult your lawyer or another lawyer instead of us. The
exact nature of your legal situation will depend on many facts
not known to us at this time. You should understand that the
advice and information in this solicitation is general and that
your own situation may vary. This statement is required by rule
of the Supreme Court of Missouri.
