No longer required to cover dependent due to termination of child support order

[Guest spinky96]

I have an employee who was covering his dependent due to a child support order. The order has now been terminated and he is no longer required to carry the coverage for his son, who will be turning 18. Under COBRA, would this qualify for 18 months or 36 months of coverage?

[papogi]

You used the word “dependent”, so I am assuming that even though this QMCSO required that the employee provide coverage, this person is still considered a dependent based on the wording in the plan. If he/she is, then I think you need to leave the dependent on the plan until the next open enrollment, if this plan is operating under Section 125 (pre-tax payroll deductions). At open enrollment, the termination of the dependent would not be a COBRA event. If the plan is not under 125, and the underlying health plan allows terminations at any time, then this is a voluntary drop without loss of eligibility. There is no loss of “dependent child status”, so there is no COBRA requirement. An employer can be more generous than the COBRA regs, however, and can offer COBRA if they want.