Health plan admin - COBRA (BenefitsLink.com)Headlines re Health plan admin - COBRA, gathered by BenefitsLink.comFailure to Provide Election Notice to Spouse Violated COBRA but Penalties Against Employer Were Not Justified- (Found July 11, 2008 ) Excerpt: "EBIA Comment: DOL COBRA notice regulations issued in 2004 contain detailed guidance on how to provide notice to multiple qualified beneficiaries, resolving much of the conflict in the case law. Under the regulations, a covered employee and spouse may be notified by furnishing a single notice addressed to both of them if based on the most recent information available to the plan, the spouse resides at the same location as the employee." (Employee Benefits Institute of America)http://www.ebia.com/weeklyguest/19186/20071116973398813143d622174f7da216d2a100/BNL071025 Summary: Proposed Changes to 2002 Trade Act's Health Provisions on COBRA and Health Care Tax Credit (PDF)- (Found July 11, 2008 ) 5 pages. Excerpt: "Two committees of the House of Representatives recently proposed several changes to the health provisions under The Trade Act of 2002. The 2002 Trade Act created a health care tax credit of 65% of the cost of qualified health insurance coverage for certain workers who were terminated due to globalization. The Act also gave these workers a second COBRA election period. Two bills that would either expand the COBRA rights for these workers or change the tax credit...http://www.americanbenefitscouncil.org/documents/taa_summary_103007.pdf No COBRA Notice Required at End of Combined FMLANon-FMLA Leave for Employee Who Did Not Pay Premiums While on Leave- (Found July 11, 2008 ) Excerpt: "EBIA Comment: Employee leaves of absence can present special difficulties for COBRA compliance unless an employer adopts clear rules (reflected, as necessary, in plan documentation) regarding what triggers COBRA rights: the reduction in hours at the start of a leave or the termination of employment for those employees who do not return at the end of a leave. Although the IRS COBRA regulations contain a special rule that addresses the issue for FMLA leaves, as this case...http://www.ebia.com/weeklyguest/19254/20080125edf68315b2c7d6590ba9fac3f1985500/BNL080103 Cost of COBRA Affects Safety Net Appeal- (Found July 11, 2008 ) Excerpt: "Under COBRA, the former employee -- not the employer -- is typically responsible for up to 100 percent of the cost of the premium, as well as a 2 percent administrative fee. According to a federal government survey, the average total premium among businesses offering insurance in Colorado in 2005 was $3,891 per year for single coverage and $10,850 per year for family coverage." (The Denver Post)http://www.denverpost.com/perspective/ci_7866531 COBRA Notice not Due to Employee Who Failed to Pay Health Premiums- (Found July 11, 2008 ) Excerpt: "The 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has agreed with a lower court ruling that a former Tyson Foods employee was not entitled to notification under the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act (COBRA) - because he failed to pay his health care plan premiums while on medical leave prior to his termination." (PLANSPONSOR.com; free registration required)http://www.plansponsor.com/pi_type10/?RECORD_ID=39892 Court Considers 44-Day Timeline for COBRA Election Notices- (Found July 11, 2008 ) Excerpt: "EBIA Comment: The court's opinion is frustrating because it does not discuss whether the employer and plan administrator are separate entities. Under the DOL's COBRA notice regulations, when the employer and the plan administrator are the same entity (as is typically the case with single-employer plans), the election notice deadline is 44 days from the date of the qualifying event (or loss of coverage, for those plans following the alternate rule). Indeed, this single 44-day...http://www.ebia.com/weeklyguest/19245/20080111cd2092a1aad9c22ed55c6dd5c744870c/BNL071220 Employer's Gross Misconduct Defense Fails, but Court Severely Limits Employee's Recovery- (Found July 11, 2008 ) Excerpt: "EBIA Comment: An employer takes a big risk when it denies COBRA due to gross misconduct. Being wrong about gross misconduct can lead not only to penalties, as it did in this case, it might also result in an award of retroactive COBRA coverage and attorney's fees. Accordingly, gross misconduct COBRA denials should be reserved for flagrant conduct that clearly constitutes a substantial and willful disregard of the employer's interests. As this case demonstrates, however, notifying..http://www.ebia.com/weeklyguest/19226/20080104acabeb4bfc72a938ac954e2b7cdc5a10/BNL071213 Court Limits COBRA Award for Worker Terminated for Misconduct- (Found July 11, 2008 ) Excerpt: "The U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York awarded a former Delphi Corporation employee $10 per day for his claim of COBRA violations by the company, instead of the statutory $110 a day." (PLANSPONSOR.com; free registration required)http://www.plansponsor.com/pi_type10/?RECORD_ID=39809 Paid Leave Was a Reduction of Hours Triggering COBRA Rights- (Found July 11, 2008 ) Excerpt: "Relying on the definition of qualifying event in the IRS's COBRA regulations, which states that a reduction of hours occurs whenever there is a decrease in the hours that a covered employee is required to work or actually works, the court rejected the employee's argument that only an uncompensated absence from work constitutes a reduction of hours that triggers a qualifying event." (Employee Benefits Institute of America (EBIA))http://www.ebia.com/weeklyguest/19216/20071221734cf4c21c6b831406d06c17ff53741f/BNL071129 Overview: House Approves New COBRA Entitlements and Tax Credits for 'Displaced Workers'- (Found July 11, 2008 ) Excerpt: "The bill now moves to the Senate. President Bush has threatened a veto if the current version of the legislation reaches his desk." (Watson Wyatt)http://www.watsonwyatt.com/us/pubs/insider/showarticle.asp?ArticleID=18350 |