Who can take advantage of the additional election period?
A. Only plans subject to the Federal COBRA provisions are required to provide an additional election period when certain involuntary terminations occurred from September 1, 2008 through February 16, 2009. ARRA does not require coverage provided under state continuation coverage provisions (including state mini-COBRA coverage) to offer an additional election period. States may choose but are not required to offer a second election period.
A. Only plans subject to the Federal COBRA provisions are required to provide an additional election period when certain involuntary terminations occurred from September 1, 2008 through February 16, 2009. ARRA does not require coverage provided under state continuation coverage provisions (including state mini-COBRA coverage) to offer an additional election period. States may choose but are not required to offer a second election period. 9. QUESTION: Is death considered an involuntary termination? A. No. While death of an employee can be a qualifying event for that person’s beneficiaries to be eligible for COBRA coverage, death is not an involuntary termination of employment. The beneficiaries would be required to pay the full premium amount if they elected COBRA. However, if an employee dies after an involuntary termination, the employee’s beneficiaries may be entitled to the premium reduction for the remainder of the 9 month period that would otherwise be available.
