COBRA Subsidy Under ARRA

The U.S. Dept. of Labor has been updating its website on a weekly basis offering additional information re the COBRA Subsidy (65% of COBRA premium) under the ARRA and should be referred to if you have any questions about administering this benefit. 

Legislation is pending in the House and will be introduced in the Senate to extend the current deadline that employees must be involuntarily separated on or before Feb. 28, 2010 in order to be eligible for this subsidy.    The current House version extends the date to June 30, 2010, while President Obama’s recent federal budget submission suggested extending the date to December 31, 2010.   Given continued high unemployment rate reports, it is likely that an extension will be enacted this month.