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New COBRA Rules Require Action

March 4
2009
Seminar
Buffalo, NY
March 4, 2009

8:30 – 9:30 a.m. 
The Guaranty Building
140 Pearl Street, Buffalo, NY

On February 17, 2009 President Obama signed the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (the “Act”). The Act provides a federal government subsidy of COBRA premiums for up to nine months for employees and dependents who become entitled to COBRA as a result of an involuntary loss of employment occurring on or after September 1, 2008 and before January 1, 2010. Because the Act applies to involuntary terminations occurring before the Act was signed into law, the Act creates a second COBRA enrollment opportunity for certain qualified beneficiaries who did not elect COBRA (or allowed it to lapse).

The subsidy applies to COBRA coverage periods beginning March 1, 2009. Therefore, immediate action is required. The attorneys in our Employee Benefits Practice Group will tell you what you need to know to comply with the new law. The following questions (among others) will be addressed:

  • Who is entitled to the subsidy?
  • How much is the subsidy?
  • When does the subsidized coverage begin and end?
  • What are the Act's new notice rules?
  • Who must be offered a second chance to elect COBRA?
  • When is a termination of employment "involuntary"?

Who should attend: Financial officers, human resource managers, benefit administrators, in-house counsel, and accountants