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Question: I just found out that a former employee near the end of his COBRA election period was in an accident and is currently incapacitated. What are my options administratively if the election period ends and he has not yet elected COBRA coverage?
by Gwen Cofield Although an employer or plan administrator is not required to ensure actual receipt of the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act (COBRA) notice, a good-faith effort to provide the COBRA notice must be made. Where an administrative error prevents the receipt of the COBRA notice, an employer or plan administrator can demonstrate good-faith […]
Question: We are looking for information regarding medical benefits when someone is out on leave under the FMLA. We understand that the eligible employee’s job is protected while out under the FMLA, and that they are able to make payments on their medical benefits while out on leave. If an employee exhausts all of his […]
by Gwen Cofield To have standing to sue an employer for a Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act (COBRA) notice violation, the individual alleging the violation must be either a participant or a beneficiary, as those terms are defined in Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA). COBRA coverage is designed to continue, for a limited time, […]
Remember those old Reese’s peanut butter cup commercials? Chocolate and peanut butter … two great tastes that taste great together.
By Gwen Cofield Governmental employers and the benefit plans they sponsor are generally exempt from the Employee Retirement Income Security Act’s (ERISA) Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act (COBRA) provisions but are still required to offer COBRA coverage to qualified beneficiaries under the Public Health Service Act (PHSA).
By Gwen Cofield Employers and plan administrators should ensure that adequate procedures are in place so that Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act (COBRA) election notices are sent on a timely basis to qualified beneficiaries. If a third-party administrator (TPA) is used to provide COBRA coverage, an employer’s or plan administrator’s responsibility does not end after […]
Large employers learned more details in new IRS guidance about how to both report about their coverage and fill out and file IRS forms designed to determine whether they are meeting the Affordable Care Act’s coverage requirements for employers. Under the new guidance, if a large employer’s workforce is comprised entirely of part-time employees who were […]
Petitioners in King v. Burwell could run up against the same logic that brought down Medicaid expansion under health care reform: it could be unconstitutional for the federal government to use draconian coercion to force states to set up exchanges. Justice Anthony Kennedy emerged as a potential swing vote when he raised that Constitutional balance-of-powers question, which […]
An employer/plan administrator erred by thinking that because it automatically kept employees covered under its health plan when their hours were reduced, there was no need to provide a COBRA election notice, a federal district court in Maryland ruled. The fact that the reduction in hours resulted in an increase in their premiums constituted a […]