COBRA Notification

[Sheila K]

My husband left his employer at the end of March. We received the health/dental cancellation notice July 15 and still have not received any COBRA notification. My understanding was that notice must be within 14 days of the cancellation or the event which caused the cancellation. Since we did not receive notification, are there any consequences to the employer?? I think that a three month delay in notification is more than an oversight...

Would really just like some links or something to point me in the right direction.

Thanks in advance...Sheila K

[Guest ScottN]

First, are you sure your husband's former employer falls under COBRA regulations? In general, if the employer had 20 or more employees during a typical business day in the preceding year and was not the federal government or a church group, they would.

Second, if the employer uses a third party administrator for it's COBRA administration, the time period for notification can be 44 days, 30 to the plan administrator and 14 additional to the Qualified Beneficiary.

If your husband should have received COBRA election notices and did not, the employer could be subjected to fines, etc. You may want to call the Human Resources Department at the former employer and inquire about the COBRA election notice. They may generate one immediately.