Department of Employee Trust Funds
April 2, 2009 (updated)

Recent COBRA Changes Affect Employers and Employees

The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA), signed into law on February 17, includes several important changes to the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1985 (COBRA). Specifically, the law provides for a subsidy for the COBRA premium and additional election opportunities.

MEMBERS: You may be eligible for the subsidy for your COBRA premium if you have an involuntary termination of employment that occurs between September 1, 2008 and December 31, 2009. If you had an involuntary termination of employment from September 1, 2008 through February 16, 2009 or had a qualifying event for which your employer provided you with a continuation election form on or after February 17, 2009, you will receive a notification from your former employer explaining your enrollment and subsidy eligibility. To apply for the subsidy, you must then submit your completed notification form to your former employer, who will determine your eligibility for the subsidy. If your employment was involuntarily terminated between September 1, 2008 and February 17, 2009, your former employer must provide you with the notification by April 18, 2009.

EMPLOYERS: The Department of Employee Trust Funds published an Employer Bulletin describing your responsibilities for complying with administration of the COBRA subsidy. The Bulletin includes the notification you must provide to affected employees.

More information about the ARRA is available on the DOL Internet site: http://www.dol.gov/ebsa/cobra.html.