Employers must notify plan administrators of a qualifying event within 30 days after an employee's death, termination, reduced hours of employment or entitlement to Medicare. A qualified beneficiary must notify the plan administrator of a qualifying event within 60 days after divorce or legal separation or a child's ceasing to be covered as a dependent under plan rules.

Congress passed the landmark Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act (COBRA) health benefit provisions in 1986. The law amends the Employee Retirement Income Security Act, the Internal Revenue Code and the Public Health Service Act to provide continuation of group health coverage that otherwise might be terminated.

Employers or health plan administrators must provide an initial general notice if you are entitled to COBRA benefits. You probably received the initial notice about COBRA coverage when you were hired. When you are no longer eligible for health coverage, your employer has to provide you with a specific notice regarding your rights to COBRA continuation benefits.

The Getty will notify the affected family member within 30 days after an employee's death, termination, reduced hours of employment or entitlement to Medicare. If you get divorced, enter into a legal separation, terminate a registered same-sex domestic partnership or a child ceases to be eligible under plan rules, you must notify HR Benefits of the qualifying event within 60 days of the event.

Yes. Under HIPAA any period of time that you are receiving COBRA continuation coverage is counted as previous health coverage as long as the coverage occurred without a break in coverage of 63 days or more. For example, if you were covered continuously for 5 months by a previous health plan and then received 7 months of COBRA continuation coverage, you would be entitled to receive credit for 12 months of coverage by your new group health plan. Not if you enroll when you are first eligible.

To be eligible for COBRA coverage, you must have been enrolled in your employer's health plan when you worked and the health plan must continue to be in effect for active employees. COBRA continuation coverage is available upon the occurrence of a qualifying event that would, except for the COBRA continuation coverage, cause an individual to lose his or her health care coverage.

Qualified beneficiaries must be given an election period during which each qualified beneficiary may choose whether to elect COBRA coverage. Each qualified beneficiary may independently elect COBRA coverage. A covered employee or the covered employee's spouse may elect COBRA coverage on behalf of all other qualified beneficiaries. A parent or legal guardian may elect on behalf of a minor child. Qualified beneficiaries must be given at least 60 days for the election.

Yes, disability can extend the 18 month period of continuation coverage for a qualifying event that is a termination of employment or reduction of hours.

When you were an active employee, your employer may have paid all or part of your group health premiums. Under COBRA, as a former employee no longer receiving benefits, you will usually pay the entire premium amount, that is, the portion of the premium that you paid as an active employee and the amount of the contribution made by your employer. In addition, there may be a 2 percent administrative fee.

Up to 18 months for covered employees, as well as their spouses and their dependents, when workers otherwise would lose coverage because of a termination or reduction of hours. Up to 29 months is available to employees who are determined to have been disabled at any time during the first 60 days of COBRA coverage and applies as well to the disabled employee's nondisabled qualified beneficiaries.

COBRA provides the right to temporarily continue health coverage at group rates if coverage is lost due to certain specific events. The individuals who enroll in COBRA are responsible for 100% of the group premium, plus an additional 2%.

Cal-COBRA extends COBRA-like benefits (i.e. continuation of coverage) to employees and dependent spouses and children of firms of less than 20 employees. For further information, visit the Cal-COBRA Highlights webpage.

HIPAA responsibilities do not eliminate or replace small employers' responsibilities under COBRA, but there are some places where they can be coordinated. HIPAA makes three changes to COBRA's continuation coverage, as described below. These changes were effective on January 1, 1997, regardless of when the event occurs that entitles the individual to continuation coverage. A disabled individual (as determined under the Social Security Act) is entitled to 29 months of COBRA continuation coverage.

All PEBB medical plans have a conversion option for those losing coverage under the group plan after COBRA benefits expire. If they do not choose to convert to an individual policy, the self-paid group coverage will end when the COBRA continuation period expires.