DOL Webinar On Employers' Obligations Under New COBRA Requirements

Posted on April 6, 2009 by Anthony Zaller

The DOL is offering a couple of webcasts to discuss employers’ and third parties’ obligations under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA). ARRA provides for COBRA premium reductions and additional election opportunities for continuation coverage. The webcasts are an effort to assist employers in complying with the new requirements.

The presentation available from the DOL's site is about 2 hours long. I have not yet listened to the webcast, so I cannot recommend whether or not it is informative, but the price is right - free. Below are the PowerPoint slides used during the presentation:

COBRA Provisions Under Arra Anyone interested in listening to the webcast presented on March 24, 2009 can click here. The registration is fairly simple, but you will need RealPlayer on your computer (click here to download a free version).

Here are some other related links employers may find helpful:

Fact Sheet on Premium Reduction Under ARRA
http://www.dol.gov/ebsa/newsroom/fsCOBRApremiumreduction.html

Model Notices
http://www.dol.gov/ebsa/COBRAmodelnotice.html

Department of Labor (DOL) FAQs on Premium Reduction Under ARRA
http://www.dol.gov/ebsa/faqs/faq-cobra-premiumreductionER.html

Internal Revenue Service (IRS) FAQs on Premium Reduction Under ARRA
http://www.irs.gov/newsroom/article/0,,id=204708,00.html

Form 941
http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/f941.pdf

Form 941 Instructions
http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/i941.pdf

DOL COBRA Web page
www.dol.gov/COBRA

IRS COBRA Web page
http://www.irs.gov/newsroom/article/0,,id=204505,00.html
 

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Model CORBA Notices Available From The DOL

Posted on March 24, 2009 by Anthony Zaller

The DOL recently published sample COBRA notices to help plans and individuals comply with the notice requirements set forth in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) of 2009. 

The DOL explains:

 

On February 17, 2009, President Obama signed the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) of 2009 (Pub. L. 111-5). ARRA includes a requirement that the Secretary of Labor (the Secretary), in consultation with the Secretaries of the Treasury and Health and Human Services, develop model notices. These models are for use by group health plans and other entities that, pursuant to ARRA, must provide notices of the availability of premium reductions and additional election periods for health care continuation coverage. This document announces the availability of the model health care continuation coverage notices required by ARRA.

 

The notices can be found at the Department of Labor's website here. 

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