On March 3, 2010, the President signed legislation that extends the deadline to qualify for the reduced COBRA premium subsidy (originally provided for through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) of 2009, and subsequently amended by the Defense Appropriations Act of 2009). Prior to this legislation, employees who were involuntarily terminated between September 1, 2008 and February 28, 2010, were eligible for a 65% COBRA premium subsidy.
H.R. 4691 (Temporary Extension Act of 2010) extends the eligibility for the COBRA premium subsidy to those employees who are involuntarily terminated through March 31, 2010.
In addition, this legislation also provides eligibility for the COBRA premium subsidy for employees who experience a reduction in hours that is then followed by an involuntary termination of employment.
It is widely expected that an additional extension will be passed by Congress, extending the eligibility period through December 31, 2010. We will continue to provide you with updates as they become available.
Precept and ProView are developing an action plan to implement this extension for our COBRA administration clients. If you have any questions, please contact your Precept or ProView account manager.
