Child added to Cobra after event, now particpant wants to discontinue coverage, but keep childs coverage?

[Guest RobY]

I have a client who has the following Cobra situation. Employee and spouse on active health coverage. Employee loses coverage so both eligilbe for Cobra. Only spouse elects to continue coverage through Cobra. While on Cobra spouse has a child and adds child to her benefit. Now, spouse wants to discontinue Cobra for herself, but continue the benefit for the child that was added after the event. Is there any legal requirement that allows this or does the spouse (as the original beneficiary) have to retain her Cobra to be able to continue the coverage of the child? Thank you.

[oriecat]

According to my COBRA workbook, the term "qualified beneficiary" includes new born children who are added to the plan after the original effective date of COBRA coverage, but only if added to the covered employee's continuation coverage. Therefore the child added to the spouse's COBRA coverage would not be considered a qualified beneficiary, and therefore not entitled to independent election rights. According to the workbook, this in in Section 421 of HIPAA.

[Sandra Pearce]

If the employee had continued coverage under COBRA and added the baby to that coverage the baby would then be a Qualified Beneficiary with separate election rights and I believe could continue under COBRA without the employee (former employee). However, since it was the spouse of the employee who elected COBRA I believe that the child born is not a QB and does not have separate election rights. 26 CFR Section 54.4980B-3 Qualified beneficiaries

[Guest b2kates]

I agree that the birth does not make a child a Qualified Beneficiary, when it is the non-employee spouse who has obtained COBRA coverage.

It would have been through the employee that QB status would be granted.

In your situation, it does not appear that child is entitled to coverage;

Spouse may always terminate coverage at any time.

[Jbentz]

Is the qualification of a QB based on the status of employee or spouse of employee? If both my husband and I are covered under his insurance and he leaves the company, we both have separate QB rights upon his termination. If we signed up together, then I would not have the QB designation, but woudl be a dependent of a QB. Since I signed up on her own, and then added the child, i believe both myself and my child are QBs.

What am i not seeing?