COBRA DEADLINES EXTENDED AGAIN DUE TO THE PANDEMIC
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March 8, 2022
On February 18, Joe Biden extended the Covid-19 National Emergency for an additional year. This means that certain deadlines for COBRA and HIPAA such as the following continue to be extended:
- COBRA Qualifying Event and Disability Extension Notices–The 60-day deadline by which qualified beneficiaries must notify the plan of certain qualifying events (e.g., divorce or legal separation, a dependent child ceasing to be a dependent under the terms of the plan) or disability determination.
- COBRA Election–The 60-day deadline to elect COBRA continuation coverage.
- COBRA Premium Payments–The 45-day (for the initial payment) and 30-day (for subsequent payments) deadlines to timely pay COBRA premiums.
- HIPAA Special Enrollment Period–The 30-day deadline (in some instances, 60-day) to request enrollment in a group health plan following a special enrollment event (i.e., birth, adoption or placement for adoption of a child, marriage, loss of other health coverage, or eligibility for a state premium assistance subsidy).
- COBRA Election Notice–the 14-day deadline (44 days where the employer is the plan administrator) for a plan administrator to provide a COBRA election notice to qualified beneficiaries.
The IRS had previously provided examples of how the tolling provisions would work at Notice 2021-58, Extension of COBRA election and premium payment deadlines under section 7508A(b) (irs.gov)
Feel free to contact us if you have questions about this matter.
Luke J. Malloy, III
P.O. Box 1080
Lynchburg, Virginia 24505
(434) 846-2768
