U.S. Congress About To Pass Extension of ARRA COBRA Subsidy

*By Patrick J. Hoban

On December 19, 2010, the U.S. Senate accepted amendments to H.R. 3326 – the 2010 Defense Department Appropriations Act – which contains provisions extending the COBRA subsidies created by the American Reinvestment and Recovery Act (“ARRA”) in February 2009. If approved by the full House and Senate, the bill will do the following:

• Extend the expiration of the COBRA subsidy eligibility period from December 31, 2009, to February 28, 2010 for individuals who involuntarily lost their employment and group health insurance coverage after September 1, 2008.
• Expand the period of COBRA subsidy from 9 to 15 months;
• Afford individuals whose 9 months of ARRA COBRA subsidy has run out an opportunity to elect an additional 6 months of subsidized COBRA coverage; and
• Require the administrators of covered group health insurance plans to provide additional notice of the extended ARRA COBRA benefits within 60 days of the enactment of the legislation.

In addition to H.R. 3326, the 2010 appropriations bill for the Departments of Housing, Commerce, Justice, and Science (H.R. 2847) includes nearly identical language regarding the extension of ARRA COBRA subsidies – one key difference is that H.R. 2847 would extend eligibility to individuals who voluntarily lose employment and group coverage through June 30, 2010. Both bills are currently in Conference Committee. The Employee Benefits Security Administration (“EBSA”) the federal government agency responsible for administering COBRA benefits, currently has no information concerning the application and enforcement of the pending legislation, but should have updates on its Web site in the event either bill becomes law (www.dol.gov/ebsa).


*Patrick J. Hoban practices in all areas of labor and employment law, with a focus on private and public sector labor law. If you have any questions about this pending legislation or other ARRA COBRA or COBRA issues, contact Pat Hoban (pjh@zrlaw.com) at 216.696.4441.