Does receiving premium assistance reduce other income-based government benefits?
No. Programs such as food stamps, energy assistance, etc. that provide support to people with low incomes are not allowed to count the COBRA premium assistance as income. How do people find out about premium assistance? Currently, when people leave jobs with 20 or more workers, their employer or health plan provides a notice about their COBRA rights. These notices were modified to include information about COBRA premium assistance. The Department of Labor, Department of Health and Human Services, and the Treasury Department have developed notices for other employers to give to their employees about premium assistance for state continuation plans and continuation plans for government workers. The notices explain how to apply and whom to contact. People who lost their jobs after September 1, 2008, and who did not elect COBRA before the Recovery Act was passed should also have received notice from their former group health plan or health plan administrator informing them of the availabili
