QUESTION 25: Assume an employer is subject to COBRA and then sells part of its business. Due to the sale, the employer drops below 20 employees and is no longer subject to COBRA. Does the employer still have to offer COBRA coverage to any existing qualified beneficiaries at the time of the sale?QUESTION 26: I heard that an employer must continue health coverage under COBRA for at least 45 days after termination of employment of any employee. This means that one's COBRA coverage option is open after the expiration of this 45-day period. Can you please elaborate on this?
QUESTION 27: A newly-eligible employee has requested that she be allowed to remain on COBRA coverage with her former employer for the 24 months they are allowing (the company is closing). Because she is not automatically "covered" under our plan (there is a cost), can she remain on the former company's plan for the duration of her COBRA coverage, even though she is eligible for the new employer's plan?
QUESTION 28: A company provides health coverage for a division of employees through an HMO contract. The contract indicates that if the company closes that division or moves it out of the network, the HMO policy is terminated. If the company sells or closes its division, and the HMO contract is terminated, does the company have to offer COBRA to the affected individuals? If so, how?
QUESTION 29: When an employee leaves an employer, the ex-employee is offered 18 months of COBRA coverage. Has this rule changed so that the ex-employee could benefit from 36 months of coverage or is the period 36 months for disabled persons?
QUESTION 30: Under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA), does a plan have to offer the 11-month extension of COBRA coverage nondisabled qualified beneficiaries who are related to the disabled individual? The DOL's interpretation in its model HIPAA notice seems to have adopted this view.
QUESTION 31: An employer recently changed carriers to provide a broader, more cost-effective health plan for its employees. My understanding of COBRA is that this constitutes a new "qualifying event." Notices were sent to existing COBRA enrollees accordingly. Must the employer enroll these enrollees immediately, that is, as of the effective date of the new plan, even though they have not responded to the notification prior to the effective date? Also if the employer does enroll them (using prior COBRA forms, etc.) is the insurance carrier required to accept them on the same basis as the "active employees"?
QUESTION 32: Under a multi-employer plan, must COBRA be offered to a group of employees who decertified one union and, therefore, concluded their participation in the union's health and welfare plan?
QUESTION 33: I live in Florida. Do recent legislative changes mean that COBRA coverage can be offered to employees working for companies with fewer than 20 employees. If so, is it retroactive?
Summary: While the Microsoft Corp. now must pay benefits to employees it misclassified as independent contractors, federal law still does not require companies to give benefits to all employees. But a company's benefits plan must clearly define the characteristics of any excluded employee group.
Summary: The U.S. Department of Labor has signed a two-year agreement with the Oklahoma Insurance Department that authorizes the department to get involved in disputes over self-funded plans.
QUESTION 18: Who pays medical insurance premiums for qualified beneficiaries during the COBRA election period while they are deciding whether or not to take COBRA coverage?QUESTION 19: May an employer allow qualified beneficiaries to continue COBRA coverage beyond the 18-month mandated period?
QUESTION 20: A company with fewer than 20 employees inadvertently allowed a terminated employee to continue coverage under COBRA. The company discovered its mistake and now wants to terminate the coverage and offer a conversion option. Is there any problem with doing so?
QUESTION 21: A dependent is covered under his spouse's employer's plan (a private employer) and CHAMPUS. When his spouse loses her job, is he eligible for COBRA or does the existence of CHAMPUS coverage relieve the employer from providing COBRA? Assume no pre-existing condition limitations apply under the CHAMPUS coverage.
QUESTION 22: How does a self-funded plan determine the COBRA premium? Is there a specific formula to apply?
QUESTION 23: Are medical care reimbursement accounts and/or dependent care reimbursement accounts subject to COBRA? Where can guidelines for this problem be found?
QUESTION 24 : Two related questions: (a) We are a municipality with different unions. Some of the union contracts call for the town to terminate coverage immediately upon retirement, while others provide for coverage to last at the town's expense for a certain period after retirement. When should election notices go out under these different situations? (b) An employee is offered a severance package providing for payment of fringe benefits, including medical coverage, by the employer for three months after termination of employment. Given this scenario, when is a COBRA notice due? Does the 18-month COBRA period run from the date of termination of employment or when the employer ceases making payments for benefits?