COBRA ELECT/REJECT/ELECT

[Guest DawnS]

All this is within the 60 days election period:

Employee elects COBRA and pays first month premium.

Gets a new job, becomes covered by new plan, tells former employer to cancel COBRA.

Quits new job, calls former employer and wants to re-elect COBRA.

Must the former employee allow him/her to re-elect?

[Guest]

The old employer probably doesn't have to, but I think it would be good policy.

[KIP KRAUS]

If the employee became covered by new employer plan, I would tell them to elect COBRA coverage under new employer Plan. I'm not aware of any provision that says a person has to be covered for a certain mininum amount of time in order to elect COBRA????

[Guest jreddi]

Once he becomes covered under the new employer's plan, the former employer has no COBRA obligation. This is reinforced if the employee is outside his 30 day period for paying premiums.

The new employer should send the ex-employee CORBA notification.

[Brigid Anderson]

It may be that you can properly terminate this individual's COBRA because of the other group health plan coverage--I don't think it matters that the other coverage began while the individual was still in his election period. However, I must assume a few things about the other coverage. First, that it was actual coverage: mere eligibility for coverage isn't enough. Second, that the other coverage began AFTER the COBRA election. (This appears to be so from the order of your facts.) Third, that the other coverage had no pre-existing coverage limitation, e.g., because of the individual's HIPAA creditable coverage, that would prevent you from terminating COBRA.

Last, I assume that the reason for the termination was the other coverage. Because of the potential for administrative difficulties in applying the preX limit mentioned above, some plans don't cut off COBRA due to other coverage (it is discretionary not mandatory). I assume that your plan has a practice of doing so: you might run into difficulties if you cut it off for this reason for some individuals and not for others. Note that in the absence of the other coverage, it

may not be enough that the individual elected and then waived COBRA (assuming he was still in the grace period for payment of the second month's COBRA premium).

[This message has been edited by Brigid Anderson (edited 01-26-2000).]

[This message has been edited by Brigid Anderson (edited 01-26-2000).]

[Guest jreddi]

I think Geissal comes into play here, so I thought I would weigh in again.

Looks like the ee "first became" covered under his new plan after his election. The Geissal ruling speaks directly to this. In the SC opinion, a new employer can, indeed, cancel coverage if the ee first becomes covered under a different plan after his election.

Chain of events:

EE loses coverage: qualifying event;

COBRA offered: Employee accepts;

Employee accept offer of employment and becomes covered under the new play AFTER his COBRA election: Old employer cancels coverage.

Just like they should have!

[Guest Shari G]

I don't feel that Geissal is as much a factor here as are the COBRA final regs published on 2/3/99.

Geissal addresses the ability to elect and receive COBRA coverage even when other coverage exists prior to the date of the qualifying event.

On the otherhand, the final regs state that a qualified beneficiary has the right to revoke his declination of COBRA coverage, as long as such revocation occurs within the 60 day election period. Furthermore, the final regs state that, in part, in order to be deemed a qualified beneficiary, the participant must only be covered on the day preceding the qualifying event.

In this case, the following should have occured:

1. cobra elected with former employer

2. obtains coverage with new employer

3. termination of cobra coverage by former employer as of effective date of coverage with new employer.

4. employee quits job with new employer; thereby, triggering a new qualifying event.

5. cobra offered by latest former employer.

[jeanine]

Any thoughts on this situation? Wife loses coverage through divorce. Unaware of her right to receive COBRA coverage, wife enrolls in own employer sponsored plan that has greatly reduced benefits. Wife is hospitalized 40 days after losing first coverage, when she returns home she finds notice to elect coverage. She wants to elect COBRA coverage from first source for several reasons, one being that coverage is superior. May she disenroll from her employer's coverage (enrolled only 2 weeks ago) and enroll in COBRA from her former spouse's plan? She is still within the election period. Our thought is to let her elect COBRA as she has medical needs and would benefit from the higher level of coverage under the COBRA plan.

[Mary C]

The former wife's new coverage does not prevent her from being eligible to elect COBRA. It was in place before she was notified of or elected COBRA. She will have to look at the provisions of her employer's plan to see if she can disenroll -- some plans paid for with pre-tax dollars will not allow cancellations during the year.