COBRA Premium Subsidy Program: What This Means for Employers

Description

The economic stimulus package includes significant changes to COBRA administration — and provides a relatively short compliance deadline for employers, insurers and third-party administrators. These changes would subsidize COBRA premiums — resulting in potentially more individuals electing COBRA coverage — establish a new election period, require new COBRA notices and modifications to existing notices, and make other modifications to day-to-day COBRA administration.

• Which qualified beneficiaries are eligible for the COBRA subsidy?\
• How long does the subsidy last?
• Who gets the benefit of the new COBRA payroll tax credit and how do they claim it?
• How does the new special 60-day election period work and who can use it to elect COBRA coverage?
• What new COBRA notices are required to be created?
• What are the less obvious but important administrative changes that might be overlooked?
• What penalties apply if a plan administrator or employer fails to comply?

Recording Date

Speakers

Paul M. Hamburger, P.C. is a partner in the Washington, D.C. office of McDermott Will & Emery LLP, where he heads the D.C. Employee Benefits Practice. 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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