COBRA Subsidy and UI Extension Signed Into Law
On Saturday, December 19, 2009, the U.S. Senate passed the Fiscal Year 2010 Department of Defense (DOD) Appropriations Act by a vote of 88-10. This federal spending bill included important provisions to both
1. Extend and expand the COBRA subsidy program that was enacted under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) and
2. Extend expanded unemployment benefits through February 28, 2010.
The House also passed this same spending bill on December 16, 2009 by a vote of 395-34. President Obama immediately signed this bill into law (P.L. No: 111-118) after Senate passage on December 19, 2009.
COBRA
The COBRA subsidy program extension in the DOD bill will:
- Expand the ARRA’s COBRA premium subsidy period from nine to 15 months
- Change the end date for eligibility for the subsidy from December 31, 2009, to February 28, 2010
- Provide a retroactive period of 60 days (commences upon enactment) for payment of premiums for eligible individuals whose subsidy period expired on November 30, 2009
- Require a special notice outlining these changes within 60 days to all eligible individuals on COBRA on or after October 31, 2009, or those who are terminated after this date
- Clarify the original COBRA subsidy program, noting that eligibility and notice are based on the timing of the qualifying event
Unemployment Insurance
- The DOD bill also provides an extension and expansion of unemployment insurance benefits. These changes are outlined below.
- The period during which individuals may file applications for Federal Emergency Unemployment Compensation (EUC) is extended from the current end date of December 31, 2009 to February 28, 2010 and the period during which individuals may claim and be paid EUC is extended from May 31, 2010 to July 31, 2010.
- The period during which individuals may qualify for the Federal Additional Compensation (FAC), the extra $25 weekly benefit amount on state and federal unemployment compensation, is extended from the current end date of January 1, 2010 to February 28, 2010 with weekly payment provided during the phase out period for weeks ending June 30, 2010 to August 31, 2010.
- The period during which 100% federal reimbursement for weeks of regular federal extended benefit payments for states opting to trigger federal extended benefits based on the Total Unemployment Rate is extended from the current end date of January 1, 2010 to February 28, 2010, with the state option to continue the extended period from May 30, 2010 to July 31, 2010.
Contact Employer Flexible at 1-866-501-4942 for further information & questions.
Department of Labor’s website at: www.dol.gov/cobra
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