COBRA Benefits

 

I want to know more about Search

 

If you have 20 or more employees, you are subject to a law known as the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1985, better known as COBRA. COBRA requires employers to offer individuals who would otherwise lose benefit protection the option of continuing to have group health care plan coverage.

IMPORTANT ! Individual states may also have COBRA-like laws. Be sure to check yours. Also, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 has new, albeit temporary, rules for COBRA premium payments required to be made by employers for involuntarily terminated employees, which are then reimbursed through a credit. The Department of Labor has provided a detailed explanation of the COBRA provisions under the Act.

And, if you are subject to COBRA, familiarize yourself with the basics of the law, including:

• which employees are eligible for COBRA
• which benefits are covered by COBRA
• what events trigger COBRA coverage
• what your communications duties are
• who pays for COBRA
• administrative issues associated with COBRA