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Q: COBRA Law ( Answered,   0 Comments )
Question  
Subject: COBRA Law
Category: Business and Money
Asked by: davidm4640-ga
List Price: $40.00
Posted: 07 Sep 2006 15:49 PDT
Expires: 07 Oct 2006 15:49 PDT
Question ID: 763179
Based on an appropriate "qualifying event", is an employer required to
offer COBRA Continuation Coverage for all plans offered (i.e., plans
that cover active employees and separate plans that cover retired
employees) or does COBRA  only apply to "active employee" plans?
Answer  
Subject: Re: COBRA Law
Answered By: hummer-ga on 07 Sep 2006 18:21 PDT
 
Hi  davidm4640,

Simply, the employer must offer the same coverage after the qualifying
event that was available to the employee before the qualifying event.

COBRA Coverage
"COBRA coverage gives Plan Participants the opportunity to choose
continuation of the same health care benefits and options they were
enrolled in before their qualifying event occurred. The coverage is
subject to all of the same deductibles, exclusions, limitations, and
other provisions of the plan..."
http://web.mit.edu/hr/benefits/term.html

COVERED BENEFITS
"Qualified beneficiaries must be offered benefits identical to those
received immediately before qualifying for continuation coverage.
For example, a beneficiary may have had medical, hospitalization,
dental, vision and prescription benefits under single or multiple
plans maintained by the employer. Assuming a qualified beneficiary had
been covered by three separate health plans of his former employer on
the day preceding the qualifying event, that individual has the right
to elect to continue coverage in any of the three health plans.
If a plan provides both core and non-core benefits, individuals may
generally elect either the entire package or just core benefits.
Individuals do not have to be given the option to elect just the
non-core benefits unless those were the only benefits carried under
that particular plan before a qualifying event.
Non-core benefits are vision and dental services, except where they
are mandated by law in which case they become core benefits. Core
benefits include all other benefits received by a beneficiary
immediately before qualifying for COBRA coverage. Beneficiaries may
change coverage during periods of open enrollment by the plan."
http://www.floridahealthinsurance.com/cobra.htm

"All group health benefits, including Optional Riders, are available."
http://www.nyc.gov/html/olr/html/health/prog_info_options.shtml 

COBRA Continuation of Coverage - Covered Benefits
"Group health plans must offer coverage to qualified beneficiaries
that is identical to that available to similarly situated individuals
who are not receiving COBRA coverage under the plan (generally, the
same coverage that the qualified beneficiary had immediately before
qualifying for continuation coverage). For example, a qualified
beneficiary may have had medical, hospitalization, dental, vision and
prescription benefits under a single or multiple plans maintained by
the employer on the day preceding the qualifying event. That qualified
beneficiary may elect to continue all benefits or choose to continue
only certain benefits (if active employees are permitted to select
specific benefits and decline other benefits under the plan or plans).
A change in the benefits under the plan for active employees will also
apply to qualified beneficiaries. Qualified beneficiaries must be
allowed to make the same choices given to non-COBRA enrollees under
the plan, such as during periods of open enrollment by the plan. COBRA
beneficiaries remain subject to the rules of the plan and therefore
are subject to catastrophic and other benefit limits to the same
extent as non-COBRA plan enrollees."
http://www.cms.hhs.gov/COBRAContinuationofCov/04_CoveredBenefits.asp

Under COBRA, what benefits must be covered?
"Qualified beneficiaries must be offered coverage identical to that
available to similarly situated beneficiaries who are not receiving
COBRA coverage under the plan (generally, the same coverage that the
qualified beneficiary had immediately before qualifying for
continuation coverage).  A change in the benefits under the plan for
the active employees will also apply to qualified beneficiaries. 
Qualified beneficiaries must be allowed to make the same choices given
to non-COBRA beneficiaries under the plan, such as during periods of
open enrollment by the plan."
http://www.dol.gov/ebsa/faqs/faq_consumer_cobra.html

I hope this helps. If you have any questions or if I misunderstood
your question, please post a clarification request and wait for me to
respond before closing/rating my answer.

Thank you,
hummer

Search strategy:
I searched the CMS website and also Google for: cobra continuation
coverage offered benefits
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