COBRA Health Insurance Subsidy Eligibility In 2010
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UPDATE Individuals who become eligible for COBRA or state continuation after December 31, 2009,
Extended Subsidy Eligibility Period Expires Sunday
Unless Congress
Acts Again
The extended two-month eligibility period for the premium subsidy program is set to end this Sunday, Feb. 28, 2010. This means that workers involuntarily terminated starting March 1 will not be eligible to receive the 65 percent premium reduction of COBRA or state continuation benefits.
Many believe there is Congressional support for extending the premium subsidy eligibility period again, and expect consideration of the issue in coming weeks.
My hope is that any extension will be passed before the eligibility period ends this Sunday, to avoid another retroactive benefits period. As of this morning Feb 26th, the House has passed a voice vote to extend the subsidy by one month. It now goes to the Senate, but isn’t expected to pass before week’s end.
Either way, we will endeavor to keep you informed as changes occur.
Read below for more information on the subsidy extension.
Early in 2009, The
American Recovery and Reinvestment Act had a provision that provided eligible
COBRA and state continuation participants with nine months of
subsidized premiums was supposed to end December 31, 2009 but was recently extended. Therefore, an
individual who becomes eligible for COBRA or state continuation
coverage until Feb 28, 2009, will now be eligible for the 65%
subsidy.
This means that if an employee is terminated on March 1st, 2010, that employee may be eligible for COBRA or state continuation, but will not be eligible for the subsidy.
For more information, go to the U.S. Department of Labor website at http://www.dol.gov/ebsa/cobra.html for more information. If you don't have time to read this or need some explanation of the law, please give me a call at 312-823-8380, Paul Kaczmarczyk
If you are in need of an individual or family policy consult with our Illinois Health Insurance agency. We work directly with multiple insurance carriers in the state of Illinois and we will be able to match you up with the best coverage. We will always prescreen a client first in order to make sure there is a good chance for them to qualify for a new policy. You can even run quotes through our website www.infinityhealthinsurance.com to see the money you can save by coming off of cobra.
The top rated insurance carriers in Illinois that we work with are Blue Cross Blue Shield of Illinois, Aetna, Humana, and United Health Care.
