Market Areas > Human Resources > COBRA

New COBRA Law: The Fast Track to Compliance

Course Description:

Organizations will have to scramble to comply with federal legislation providing a subsidy of COBRA health insurance premiums to laid-off employees. 

Under the new legislation, the subsidies will be available starting March 1. This means you will have to notify eligible beneficiaries of the change in what they have to pay for COBRA and send out new premium statements almost immediately.

The new provisions include:

1. Employees who were laid off from September 1, 2008, through December 31, 2009, will be eligible for a 65 percent federal subsidy of their COBRA premiums under provisions in the economic stimulus bill.
2. Workers who were involuntarily terminated between September 1, 2008 and December 31, 2009, but chose not to elect COBRA as of February 17, 2009, will get also an additional 60 days to do so and receive the subsidy.

With the subsidy resulting in beneficiaries paying about one-third of the COBRA premium that typically has a monthly cost of about $400 for individual coverage and $1,200 for family coverage, employers with laid-off employees should expect the take-up rate to skyrocket!

Learn what the new provisions require and how to remain COBRA compliant in this 75-minute CCM teleconference.  During this must-attend event our faculty expert will help you:

• Understand all of the details included in COBRA changes
• Implement the changes into policies and procedures
• Determine who is eligible and who is not
• Comply with COBRA notification policies
• Know what to include in notification forms
• Change other communication materials to remain compliant
• Adopt reasonable procedures for qualified beneficiaries
• Manage payroll taxes and government reimbursements

Featured Faculty

Linda E. Rosenzweig, Senior Benefits Counsel , Keightley & Ashner LLP

Linda E. Rosenzweig, who is Of Counsel to Keightley & Ashner LLP and serves as the firm’s Senior Benefits Counsel, has been practicing in the area of employee benefits and employment law for more than 30 years. Linda's employee benefits experience includes designing plans, advising clients in connection with issues arising under ERISA, the Internal Revenue Code, COBRA, and HIPAA, and representing clients in benefits litigation and before Federal agencies on various issues. Her broad-based practice covers the entire range of employee benefits matters, including tax and labor issues, fiduciary issues, and multiemployer plan issues. She conducts training for in-house staff in charge of plan administration and works with clients to achieve compliance for retirement, health and other welfare benefits plans, such as those relating to COBRA and HIPAA. Linda’s knowledge and experience also extend to the federal employment discrimination laws, Medicare secondary payer rules, and mergers and acquisitions. In addition, she handled litigation on behalf of the PBGC's Title IV plan termination program, including issues of employer liability for plans terminating in or outside of a bankruptcy proceeding, and served as the Executive Assistant to the General Counsel at the PBGC.

Linda is the President of the Greater Washington Metropolitan Area Chapter of the Worldwide Employee Benefits (“WEB”) Network, and a member of the Steering Committee of the Greater Washington Employer Benefit and Work/Life Survey. She is a Charter Fellow of the American College of Employee Benefits Counsel, and was a member of its Northeast Region Nominating Committee for 2008. Linda is the 2001 recipient of the American Bar Association's Edmund S. Muskie Pro Bono Award, which she received for her work as the founder and Director of a Pilot Pension Dispute Resolution Project.

MONEY-BACK GUARANTEE:

We're so confident you'll get what you want out of this conference that we'll refund every penny if you're not completely satisfied. No questions asked! It's 100% risk-free!

Pricing:

Unable to Attend?  Order the CD!
Your CD recording includes the complete audio conference presentation, audience Q&A and presentation materials.

APPROVED FOR RECERTIFICATION CREDIT:

HRCI - Receive 1.5 recertification credit hours toward PHR and SPHR recertification through the Human Resource Certification Institute (HRCI). For more information about certification or recertification, please visit the HRCI homepage at www.hrci.org.

Each CCM event presents a variety of information and is presented for each organization to develop its own approach and methodology.