COBRA Tolling Period Extensions
As communicated earlier this month, WebTPA has been working to identify the individuals affected by the COBRA tolling period extensions. By the end of this week, our goal is to provide our clients with a copy of the COBRA Election Extension Period Notice and the COBRA Election Extension Period Expiration Notice. Once you have had the opportunity to review the notices, we will begin mailing the notices to the identified individuals.
COBRA Subsidies Under the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA)
We are awaiting the publication of the ARPA Subsidy Availability/Election and ARPA Subsidy Expiration model notices from the Department of Labor (DOL). The DOL must provide these in April 2021 and we will share them as soon as they are available.
Assistance Eligible Individuals who receive subsidy notices will include qualified beneficiaries who lost their health coverage as far back as November 2019, since the 18-month maximum coverage period for a qualified individual on that date does not expire until the end of April 2021. As a reminder, the Assistance Eligible Individuals must have experienced an involuntary termination or a reduction in hours.
The Federal government will reimburse the employer through a refundable credit against FICA taxes and we will be able to track the subsidy activity necessary for employers to file for the tax credit through our COBRA platform.
Next Steps
We will provide the COBRA Election Extension Period Notice and the COBRA Election Extension Period Expiration Notice to you later this week. WebTPA is currently establishing the full administrative process for the subsidy notice mailings and those details, along with the DOL model notices, will be distributed in the near future. Thank you for your patience and partnership as we work through these various regulatory items; please let us know if you have any additional questions.