COBRA: A Snake in the Employee Benefits Garden

The Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) was amended by the Comprehensive Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1985 (COBRA) to allow employees and qualified dependents to continue the group health insurance coverage offered by their employer following termination of employment or...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inStrategic finance (Montvale, N.J.) Vol. 72; no. 10; p. 27
Main Authors Brown, Steven C R, Powers, Ollie S
Format Magazine Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Montvale Institute of Management Accountants 01.04.1991
Subjects
COBRA 1985-US
Collective bargaining
Compliance
Employee benefits
Employees
Employers
ERISA
Fines & penalties
Group health insurance
Health insurance
Insurance coverage
Regulations
Terminations
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Summary:The Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) was amended by the Comprehensive Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1985 (COBRA) to allow employees and qualified dependents to continue the group health insurance coverage offered by their employer following termination of employment or other specified events that would result in the loss of this coverage. Companies should understand COBRA in terms of where it applies, who must be notified, loss of coverage, election of coverage, and enforcement and sanctions. COBRA applies to all employer-sponsored plans in which health care benefits are provided. The group health plan must provide written notice of continuation-coverage benefits to each participant and spouse at the time the plan becomes subject to COBRA, and each new employee and spouse must be notified upon hiring. Each qualified beneficiary who would lose coverage as a result of a qualifying event must receive the opportunity to make an independent election to receive COBRA continuation coverage.
ISSN:1524-833X