cobra update

Additional Enrollment Opportunity and Premium Reduction

For a limited time, the Obama Administration’s economic stimulus program—known as the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA)—allows you an additional opportunity to choose coverage and receive a temporary premium reduction for health insurance offered under COBRA.

The primary qualifications are:

• You were involuntarily terminated from a job between September 1, 2008, and February 16, 2009, and you were offered Federal COBRA continuation coverage as a result.
• You declined to take COBRA at that time, or you elected COBRA and later discontinued it.

If you’re eligible, you’ll pay only 35 percent of the normal COBRA premiums for up to nine months. The remaining 65 percent is reimbursed to the coverage provider through a tax credit. For example, if you pay $1,000 a month for COBRA coverage for your family, the new subsidy would reduce your payments to $350.

If you elect COBRA during this second election opportunity, coverage begins retroactively on February 17, 2009, and it lasts for up to 18 months.

To find out more about this new enrollment period and the COBRA subsidy, visit information from the U.S. Department of Labor’s Web site:

• COBRA Continuation Coverage Assistance Under The American Recovery And Reinvestment Act
• FAQs For Employees About COBRA Premium Reduction Under ARRA