Cobra Beneficiary and New Health Plan

[Guest S Craig]

An employer is transferring from one insurance plan to another. They have waited until the last minute (well, the last week of the month) to make this decision and notify their employees of the plan change.

There is one Cobra Beneficiary who is just being notified as well. The new carrier is requiring the paperwork to be received prior to the effective date (2/1) in order to allow coverage.

Is there any part of the Cobra regulation that states the employer must provide a certain timeframe for the open enrollment election?

Thank you for your assistance.