The U.S. Senate has yet to approve legislation that would extend a program that provides subsidies for COBRA continuation coverage for involuntarily terminated workers.
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Get Your Report Now!The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA), as amended by the Department of Defense Appropriations Act of 2010, allowed workers who were involuntarily terminated between September 1, 2008 and February 28, 2010 to be eligible for 65 percent COBRA subsidies.
Unless Congress extends the program further, workers who are involuntarily terminated after February 28 won't qualify for the subsidy. The House had approved a 1-month extension but the Senate recessed without approving the extension. Another proposal would extend the program until the end of 2010.
When ARRA became law in 2009, the COBRA subsidy program applied to workers who were involuntarily terminated from September 1, 2008 to December 31, 2009. However, the Department of Defense Appropriations Act of 2010 amended the program to allow workers who are involuntarily terminated between September 1, 2008 and February 28, 2010 to be eligible for the subsidies.
Workers who were involuntarily terminated on or before February 28 will continue to receive up to 15 months of subsidies.