On April 15, 2010, the President signed The Continuing Extension Act of 2010 (the “Act”), which expands the subsidy period and eligibility rules for the COBRA subsidy from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009.
The Act extends the qualification period for the COBRA subsidy from March 31, 2010 to May 31, 2010. All COBRA notices to employees should be amended to reflect the new subsidy eligibility cutoff date.
On March 19, 2010, the Department of Labor released updated model notification letters, which can be found at:
http://www.dol.gov/ebsa/COBRAmodelnotice.html
Employers are required to send notices to employees who may qualify under the new rule within 60 days of their involuntary termination of employment. These model notices will need to be updated for this additional subsidy extension. Please call or e-mail us with any questions on this new extension to the COBRA subsidy.