On December 19, 2009 President Obama signed into law the the Department of Defense (DOD) Appropriations Act, 2010 which includes provisions extending the COBRA premium subsidy that was enacted as part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) of 2009.
Under ARRA, individuals are eligible for the 65% COBRA premium subsidy for up to 9 months if they lose group health plan coverage because because of involuntary termination of employment between September 1, 2008, and December 31, 2009, elect COBRA coverage, and pay 35% of the full COBRA monthly premiums.
The DOD Appropriations Act makes three important changes:
1. It extends the deadline for the involuntary termination of employment to February 28, 2010.
2. It clarifies that eligibility for the subsidy is based on the date of the qualifying event (i.e., employment termination), not the date the individual becomes eligible for COBRA continuation coverage.
3 It extends the maximum eligibility from 9 to 15 months, both for those who became or become eligible by December 31, 2009 and for those who become eligible by February 28, 2010.
The DOD Appropriations Act also includes transitional provisions protecting those individuals whose eligibility for the premium subsidy expired before the extension (e.g., individuals whose period of eligibility began on March 1 and ended on November 30) and requiring group health plan administrator to notify them of their retroactive eligibility for the subsidy.
For employers, the extensions of COBRA premium subsidy eligibility mean that they will be filing Forms 941 claiming the employment tax credit for the 65% past IRS's originally expected end-point of the fourth quarter of 2010.
Showing posts with label COBRA. Show all posts
Showing posts with label COBRA. Show all posts
Wednesday, January 20, 2010
Wednesday, April 29, 2009
Stay Up to Date on Regulations
Use these links to stay up to date on regulatory changes that affect your business.
Red Flags Rule
The Federal Trade Commission has developed rules intended to address identity theft. Financial institutions and creditors will be required to implement programs to detect, prevent and mitigate instances of identity theft. The programs must be in place by May 1, 2009 and must provide for the identification, detection and response to patterns, practices, or specific activities - known as "red flags" - that could indicate identity theft.
New Georgia Lien Laws
Busch & Reed Law provides a detailed explanation of the new Georgia Lien Laws that took effect on March 31, 2009. There is a new sample claim of lien form that you can customize for your own available. To obtain that via email, email lisagolden@gocsa.com .
COBRA
The recent stimulus legislation contained some important changes to COBRA health care coverage originally passed in 1986. COBRA provides certain former employees, retirees, spouses, former spouses, and dependent children the right to temporary continuation of health coverage at group rates by paying their employer the premium plus some administrative costs. Group health plans for employers with 20 or more employees on more than 50 percent of its typical business days in the previous calendar year are subject to COBRA, although some states have COBRA-like requirements too with different thresholds. The new law includes an enhancement - a temporary 65 percent subsidy for COBRA premium payments for nine months. (Read the full article)
Weatherization Grants
The Department of Energy recently announced it will invest nearly $8 billion in state and local weatherization and energy efficiency efforts as part of the recent stimulus legislation (The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act). The funds will be divided between the Weatherization Assistance Program, which will receive nearly $5 billion, and the State Energy Program, which will receive up to $3 billion. DOE says this will help families save hundreds of dollars every year on their energy bills, while creating approximately 87,000 jobs. To jump-start the job creation and weatherization work, DOE is releasing $780 million in the next few days, and will release more as the states demonstrate that they are using the funding effectively.
Red Flags Rule
The Federal Trade Commission has developed rules intended to address identity theft. Financial institutions and creditors will be required to implement programs to detect, prevent and mitigate instances of identity theft. The programs must be in place by May 1, 2009 and must provide for the identification, detection and response to patterns, practices, or specific activities - known as "red flags" - that could indicate identity theft.
New Georgia Lien Laws
Busch & Reed Law provides a detailed explanation of the new Georgia Lien Laws that took effect on March 31, 2009. There is a new sample claim of lien form that you can customize for your own available. To obtain that via email, email lisagolden@gocsa.com .
COBRA
The recent stimulus legislation contained some important changes to COBRA health care coverage originally passed in 1986. COBRA provides certain former employees, retirees, spouses, former spouses, and dependent children the right to temporary continuation of health coverage at group rates by paying their employer the premium plus some administrative costs. Group health plans for employers with 20 or more employees on more than 50 percent of its typical business days in the previous calendar year are subject to COBRA, although some states have COBRA-like requirements too with different thresholds. The new law includes an enhancement - a temporary 65 percent subsidy for COBRA premium payments for nine months. (Read the full article)
Weatherization Grants
The Department of Energy recently announced it will invest nearly $8 billion in state and local weatherization and energy efficiency efforts as part of the recent stimulus legislation (The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act). The funds will be divided between the Weatherization Assistance Program, which will receive nearly $5 billion, and the State Energy Program, which will receive up to $3 billion. DOE says this will help families save hundreds of dollars every year on their energy bills, while creating approximately 87,000 jobs. To jump-start the job creation and weatherization work, DOE is releasing $780 million in the next few days, and will release more as the states demonstrate that they are using the funding effectively.
Wednesday, April 22, 2009
From NLBMDA: New COBRA Requirements Take Effect
From the National Lumber and Building Materials Dealer Association
The recent stimulus legislation contained some important changes to COBRA health care coverage originally passed in 1986. COBRA provides certain former employees, retirees, spouses, former spouses, and dependent children the right to temporary continuation of health coverage at group rates by paying their employer the premium plus some administrative costs. Group health plans for employers with 20 or more employees on more than 50 percent of its typical business days in the previous calendar year are subject to COBRA, although some states have COBRA-like requirements too with different thresholds. The new law includes an enhancement - a temporary 65 percent subsidy for COBRA premium payments for nine months.
It has a quirky delivery method for the subsidy. The employee would pay the employer the lowered 35 percent of premium. Employers would take a credit against their payroll taxes for the amount of the subsidy. No additional federal money changes hands (unless the total subsidies exceed the employer's payroll taxes) between the former employee, employer, and the government. There are also new notice requirements that must be given to eligible employees who qualify under the new provisions. The Department of Labor has established a website with employer guidance, FAQs and sample notices.
The recent stimulus legislation contained some important changes to COBRA health care coverage originally passed in 1986. COBRA provides certain former employees, retirees, spouses, former spouses, and dependent children the right to temporary continuation of health coverage at group rates by paying their employer the premium plus some administrative costs. Group health plans for employers with 20 or more employees on more than 50 percent of its typical business days in the previous calendar year are subject to COBRA, although some states have COBRA-like requirements too with different thresholds. The new law includes an enhancement - a temporary 65 percent subsidy for COBRA premium payments for nine months.
It has a quirky delivery method for the subsidy. The employee would pay the employer the lowered 35 percent of premium. Employers would take a credit against their payroll taxes for the amount of the subsidy. No additional federal money changes hands (unless the total subsidies exceed the employer's payroll taxes) between the former employee, employer, and the government. There are also new notice requirements that must be given to eligible employees who qualify under the new provisions. The Department of Labor has established a website with employer guidance, FAQs and sample notices.
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