If an employee notified his/her employer of a qualifying event for a family member six months after the qualifying event, is the employer still required to provide COBRA coverage?
The Department of Labor’s (DOL) COBRA notice regulations require that qualified beneficiaries notify plan administrators within 60 days of a dependent’s qualifying event or the date that the qualified beneficiary is informed of the obligation to provide the notice and the plan’s procedures (if any) for providing such notice, whichever is later. Although notification occurred well after 60 days from the qualifying event, the final outcome would depend on several circumstances, such as when the employer establishes the loss of coverage date and whether the plan documents and general COBRA notice explained the 60-day requirement. The situation should be carefully analyzed before a final determination is made not to provide COBRA coverage. Note: CobraOne will provide the required notice of unavailability in this event.
Related Questions
- If Anthem performs COBRA administration for the plan, how does the employer notify Anthem that a Qualifying Event has occurred and how much time does the employer have to notify Anthem?
- If an employee notified his/her employer of a qualifying event for a family member six months after the qualifying event, is the employer still required to provide COBRA coverage?
- How long after a qualifying event does an employee have to elect COBRA coverage?
