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The Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1985 (COBRA) is a law passed by the
U.S. Congress The United States Congress is the legislature of the federal government of the United States. It is bicameral, composed of a lower body, the House of Representatives, and an upper body, the Senate. It meets in the U.S. Capitol in Washin ...
on a reconciliation basis and signed by President Ronald Reagan that, among other things, mandates an insurance program which gives some employees the ability to continue health insurance coverage after leaving employment. COBRA includes amendments to the
Employee Retirement Income Security Act The Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) (, codified in part at ) is a U.S. federal tax and labor law that establishes minimum standards for pension plans in private industry. It contains rules on the federal income tax e ...
of 1974 (ERISA). The law deals with a great variety of subjects, such as
tobacco Tobacco is the common name of several plants in the genus '' Nicotiana'' of the family Solanaceae, and the general term for any product prepared from the cured leaves of these plants. More than 70 species of tobacco are known, but the ...
price supports,
railroad Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a pre ...
s, private pension plans, emergency department treatment, disability insurance, and the postal service, but it is perhaps best known for Title X, which amends the Internal Revenue Code and the Public Health Service Act to deny income
tax deduction Tax deduction is a reduction of income that is able to be taxed and is commonly a result of expenses, particularly those incurred to produce additional income. Tax deductions are a form of tax incentives, along with exemptions and tax credits. T ...
s to employers (generally those with 20 or more full-time equivalent employees) for contributions to a group health plan unless such plan meets certain continuing coverage requirements. The violation for failing to meet those criteria was subsequently changed to an excise tax. Although this statute became law on April 7, 1986, its official name is the ''Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1985'' (, ). Because of the discrepancy between the official name of the Act and the year in which it was enacted, some government publications refer to the Act as the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1986.


Provisions

As originally enacted, Title X of the Act provided that a qualifying employer will not be permitted to take a tax deduction for its health insurance costs unless its health insurance plan allows employees of the employer and the employee's immediate family members who had been covered by a health care plan to maintain their coverage if a "qualifying event" causes them to lose coverage. However, the legislation was subsequently amended to instead impose an excise tax upon an employer whose health plan fails to satisfy the applicable rules. A qualifying employer is generally an employer with 20 or more full-time-equivalent employees. Among the "qualifying events" listed in the statute are loss of benefits coverage due to (1) the death of the covered employee; (2) an employee loses eligibility for coverage due to voluntary or involuntary termination or a reduction in hours as a result of resignation, discharge (except for "gross misconduct"), layoff, strike or lockout, medical leave, or slowdown in business operations; (3) divorce or legal separation that terminates the ex-spouse's eligibility for benefits; or (4) a dependent child reaching the age at which he or she is no longer covered. COBRA imposes different notice requirements on participants and beneficiaries, depending on the particular qualifying event that triggers COBRA rights. Se
DOL.GOV's FAQs For Employers About COBRA Continuation Health Coverage
COBRA does not apply if coverage is lost because the employer has terminated the plan altogether or because the employer has gone out of business. COBRA allows for coverage for up to 18 months in most cases. If the individual is deemed disabled by the Social Security Administration, coverage may continue for up to 29 months. In the case of divorce from the former employee, the former spouse's coverage may continue for up to 36 months. In the case of death of the former employee, the widow's coverage may continue for up to 36 months. COBRA does not apply to businesses with fewer than twenty employees, but the majority of states have stepped in with state health insurance continuation laws, sometimes called "mini-COBRA" laws, which apply in these cases. Some of these are described below. COBRA does not, unlike other federal statutes such as the
Family and Medical Leave Act The Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 (FMLA) is a United States labor law requiring covered employers to provide employees with job-protected, unpaid leave for qualified medical and family reasons. The FMLA was a major part of President Bill C ...
(FMLA), require the employer to pay for the cost of providing continuation coverage. Instead it allows employees and their dependents to maintain coverage at their own expense by paying the full cost of the premium the employer and the employee previously paid, plus up to a 2% administrative charge (50% for the latter 11 months under the disability extension). According to the
U.S. Department of Labor The United States Department of Labor (DOL) is one of the United States federal executive departments, executive departments of the federal government of the United States, U.S. federal government. It is responsible for the administration of fede ...
: Employees and dependents can also opt for a lesser form of coverage, e.g., to choose continuation coverage under a plan that only covers the employee, but not his or her dependents, or that only provides medical and hospitalization coverage and does not pay for dental work, if those options are available to covered employees. Employees and dependents lose coverage if they fail to make timely payments of these premiums. Employers are required to inform employees and dependents upon loss of coverage, in writing, by at least fifteen days before the coverage ceases.


Coordination of coverage

An individual covered under COBRA may also be covered by another group health plan or Medicare
Geissal v. Moore Medical Corp.
' 524 U.S. 74 (1998)
as long as either of two conditions is met: * The other coverage was in force as of or prior to the coverage under COBRA. * The other coverage is subject to pre-existing conditions exclusions or limitations.


Subsidy under federal stimulus

Only 10% of Americans eligible for COBRA insurance in 2006 used it, many because they were unable to afford to pay the full premium after their job loss. While some employers may voluntarily help subsidize or fully cover the cost of COBRA insurance as part of a termination or exit package, it is more common for the ex-employee to cover the entire cost. The
American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA) (), nicknamed the Recovery Act, was a stimulus package enacted by the 111th U.S. Congress and signed into law by President Barack Obama in February 2009. Developed in response to the Gr ...
as signed by President
Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, Obama was the first African-American president of the ...
includes a 65% subsidy to employees for COBRA-enabled insurance for up to 9 months after an involuntary termination (this has since been expanded to 15 months). An employee is eligible for this subsidy if * the termination of employment was involuntary, * the terminated employee has no other group sponsored health insurance option, and * the terminated employee is otherwise eligible to enroll in COBRA. If the employee has an adjusted gross income in 2009 over $125,000 if filing as single ($250,000 if filing jointly), then the subsidy will be recaptured in a phased manner from the employee through the tax system. Termination of employment must have occurred between September 1, 2008 and December 31, 2009 (later expanded to February 28, 2010, expanded again to March 31, 2010, and then expanded again to June 2, 2010). Specific provisions and responsibilities may differ in the state specific mini-COBRA plans for employers with fewer than 20 employees throughout half of the previous calendar year. Those employees who are eligible for the ultimate benefits of this subsidy are referred to as Assistance Eligible Individuals (or AEIs). Employers subject to Federal COBRA are required to: * Notify terminated employees of their potential rights under ARRA by sending a series of notices * Provide a method for qualified AEIs to enroll * Pay the full amount of the premiums and seek reimbursement of the 65% subsidy by including it in the Employer's Quarterly Federal Tax Return (Form 941) This Act was signed into law by President Barack Obama on February 17, 2009. On December 19, 2009, President Obama signed into law the Department of Defense Appropriations Act, 2010, which made several amendments to the COBRA provisions of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA). The Act extends COBRA subsidy eligibility to employees who lost their jobs due to no fault of their own between January 1 and February 28, 2010. The nine-month subsidy period was also expanded to fifteen months. On March 3, 2010, President Obama signed into law the Temporary Extension Act of 2010. The Act extends COBRA subsidy eligibility to employees who lost their jobs due to no fault of their own between March 1 and 31, 2010. In addition, employees who lost group health insurance due to reduced work hours on or after Sept. 1, 2008, followed by involuntary termination between March 2 and March 31, 2010, will now be eligible for the COBRA subsidy. The Continuing Extension Act of 2010 extends premium assistance for COBRA benefits through May 31, 2010. As of June 2010, an extension of COBRA's premium assistance has not materialized, and attempts by congressional members to include such provisions have been dropped. As of June 1, 2010, all newly unemployed workers must pay full coverage costs as determined by their respective plans. This is due in part to conservative Democrats in Congress who have expressed concerns about treating some unemployed workers differently from others, such as people priced out of the private insurance market. A number of Senate Democrats expressed concern about this situation and have introduced legislation to expand COBRA coverage to people who become unemployed through November 2010, but such legislation did not pass in 2010. The
American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 The American Rescue Plan Act of 2021, also called the COVID-19 Stimulus Package or American Rescue Plan, is a economic stimulus bill passed by the 117th United States Congress and signed into law by President Joe Biden on March 11, 2021, to s ...
included a provision to fully cover COBRA premiums from April through September 2021.


Similar state and local legislation

Forty-one states have legislation similar to federal COBRA requiring employers to allow employees and their dependents to continue their group health insurance coverage following certain qualifying events. The District of Columbia also has laws covering COBRA.


California

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...
's legislation applies to non-government employers with a group health insurance plan with fewer than twenty employees.


District of Columbia

The
District of Columbia ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...
's Continuation of Health Coverage Act of 2001 applies to employers with a group health insurance plan with a situs in the District of Columbia and with fewer than twenty employees. Coverage must be offered to be extended for a period of three months following the date that coverage would have ended.


Maryland

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean to ...
's legislation only applies to employers with a group health insurance plan with a situs in Maryland and with fewer than twenty employees that continuation coverage must be offered to an employee who lives in Maryland, who had coverage from the employer for at least three months, and who either resigns or loses employment due to no fault of their own. Continuation coverage must also be offered to the former spouse and dependent children of an employee after a divorce. One exception to the eighteen-month rule is that coverage may end for the former spouse upon the former spouse's remarriage. Continuation coverage must also be offered to the surviving spouse and dependent children of an employee who dies. The employee must have resided in Maryland and had coverage with the employer for at least three months prior to death. In all cases, continuation coverage must be offered for eighteen months, with the exception that a former spouse's continuation coverage ends upon remarriage.


Virginia

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...
's legislation applies to employers with a group health insurance plan, other than an
HMO In the United States, a health maintenance organization (HMO) is a medical insurance group that provides health services for a fixed annual fee. It is an organization that provides or arranges managed care for health insurance, self-funded heal ...
plan, and with twenty or fewer employees. Employers must offer continuation coverage to employees for twelve months. The legislation does not apply to employees who did not have coverage from the employer for at least three months prior to the qualifying event.


Notes


See also

*
Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA or the Kennedy– Kassebaum Act) is a United States Act of Congress enacted by the 104th United States Congress and signed into law by President Bill Clinton on August 21, 1 ...
(HIPAA)


References


External links


US Department of Labor: COBRA FAQs for Employees
(2011, archived)
Employee Brochure
Department of Labor (pdf, 2013, archived)

Department of Labor


General information
from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) (2006, archived)


Private websites


All About COBRA Health Insurance
( Investopedia, private website) {{authority control United States federal taxation legislation
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United States federal health legislation 1986 in law Presidency of Ronald Reagan