COMPLIANCE ALERT: DOL Issues FAQs About American Rescue Plan’s COBRA Subsidy

On April 7, 2021, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) issued answers to frequently asked questions (FAQs) about the American Rescue Plan Act’s (ARP) premium assistance for health insurance continuation coverage under the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1986 (COBRA) and similar state mini-COBRA programs. The DOL’s FAQs are reprinted in this Compliance Bulletin.

The FAQs

The DOL’s new guidance on the COBRA subsidy consists of 21 FAQs, clarifying:

• New plan notice requirements for the subsidy;
• The applicability of the ARP election extension; and
• That extended deadline relief under earlier federal guidance does not apply to the ARP’s COBRA notice and election time frames.

However, the FAQs explain that the prior COBRA deadline relief does apply to an individual’s eligibility to elect the COBRA subsidy based on an earlier qualifying event.