Wednesday, March 17, 2021
Section 9501 of the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (the “ARPA”)
[1] requires employers to extend offers of free COBRA coverage to certain individuals for the period from April 1, 2021 through September 30, 2021. The ARPA then provides tax credits as means of offsetting the costs of the free COBRA coverage. The law also requires employers to extend offers of COBRA coverage to other individuals whose right to COBRA coverage previously ended.
This blogpost reviews who is eligible for free coverage, how the tax credits work, eligibility for extended coverage, and some potential issues pertaining to insurance coverages.
Background
The “COBRA Law”
[2] is a federal law that generally obligates employers with group health plans to offer covered employees and covered dependents (“COBRA qualified beneficiaries”) the right to continue coverage under the group health plan in certain circumstances where the coverage otherwise would cease.
New COVID Relief Act Provides COBRA Premium Subsidies and Increased Exclusion for Employer-Provided Dependent Care Assistance Programs Monday, March 15, 2021
On March 11, 2021, President Biden signed into law the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (the “Act”). As part of the almost $2 trillion in relief, the Act contains provisions creating a temporary subsidy for premium payments for extended health care coverage under the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1985 (“COBRA”), as well as increasing the income exclusion for employer-provided dependent care assistance programs in 2021.
As group health plans will likely see an increase in COBRA continuation coverage elections as a result of the COBRA premium subsidy, group health plan sponsors and plan administrators should ensure they are complying with the complex administrative requirements under recent guidance from the Department of Labor, Department of the Treasury and Internal Revenue Service (col
Monday, March 15, 2021
On March 11, 2021, the
American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (the Rescue Plan ) was passed and signed into law. Employers should be aware of the key employment provisions of the Rescue Plan in managing their workforce and in evaluating and implementing their COVID-19 workplace policies and procedures.
Extending and Expanding the Payroll Tax Credits for Leaves Voluntarily Provided Under the Family First Coronavirus Response Act ( FFCRA )
The FFCRA required public employers and private employers with fewer than 500 employees (with limited exceptions) to provide paid leave for qualifying reasons related to COVID-19. The FFCRA s sunset date was December 31, 2020, at which time the mandate to provide leave expired. Covered private employers who provided FFCRA leave were able to claim a tax credit for the payments made during the leave, subject to per diem and total caps.
In an interesting turn foreshadowing a coming change in its leadership, the National Labor Relations Board has withdrawn the rule it proposed in September 2019 to exclude student workers at private colleges and universities from coverage under the NLRA.
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