COBRA Premium Subsidy Law Changes: What You Need to Know to Comply

Description

Recently, significant changes to the COBRA premium subsidy law have altered the way plan administrators need to manage their COBRA responsibilities.

Originally enacted by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA), the COBRA premium subsidy law was further extended by the Department of Defense Appropriations Act, 2010 and the Temporary Extension Act of 2010. Currently, Congress is actively considering other COBRA premium subsidy extensions that could soon become law. With each extension of the premium subsidy law, a new set of notice and election rules must be complied with. In addition, the changes mandate that certain individuals with qualifying events be allowed to get back on COBRA coverage. Failure to comply with the law could mean excise tax penalties, other civil penalties and lawsuits.

Learning Points and Questions To Be Answered:

• How long will the COBRA subsidy be available?
• Who else can now take advantage of the subsidy?
• What are the new COBRA notice obligations?
• How do SPDs, election forms, etc. need to be amended?
• What is in the latest government guidance on COBRA subsidies?
• What are the penalties for noncompliance?

Recording Date

Speakers

Paul M. Hamburger is a partner in the Washington, D.C. office of Proskauer Rose LLP, where he heads the D.C. Employee Benefits and Executive Compensation Practice Center. In employee benefits planning and consultation, Mr. Hamburger advises employers on all aspects of their employee benefit programs, including matters affecting tax-qualified retirement plans (such as 401(k) plans, ESOPs, cash balance pension plans, and other retirement plan designs), executive compensation plans, and welfare benefit plans (including cafeteria plan, COBRA and other group health plan issues). He also advises employee benefit plan trustees and service providers on various ERISA, COBRA, and other employee benefit plan related matters. Mr. Hamburger has extensive experience in representing clients before government regulatory agencies, including the Internal Revenue Service, the Department of Labor and the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation. Mr. Hamburger currently serves as an adjunct professor at Georgetown University Law Center teaching the LLM tax course on ERISA Health and Welfare Benefit Plans. He is also a fellow of the American College of Employee Benefits Counsel, a member of the Health Plan Advisory Panel for Thompson Publishing Group publications, a member of the editorial advisory board for the “Benefits Law Journal” and a member of the Employee Benefits Committee of the Tax Section of the American Bar Association. Mr. Hamburger is a frequent speaker on employee benefit matters, including annual presentations at the ABA National Institute on Welfare Plans since 1987. He is also an author of numerous articles and other publications on employee benefits matters, including three nationally-circulated loose leaf publications, each published by Thompson Publishing Group: “Mandated Health Benefits -- The COBRA Guide,” “The Guide to Assigning & Loaning Benefit Plan Money,” and “The Pension Plan Fix-It Handbook.”

Presentation Materials

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