The COVID-19 national emergency officially ended April 10, 2023, when President Biden signed a bi-partisan congressional resolution, a month earlier than the original scheduled end. However, previous issued guidance stated the end of the outbreak period as July 10, 2023, and recent informal guidance corroborated that.

The national emergency had granted the federal government and its agencies special permissions regarding regulations pertaining to the pandemic since 2020 that impacted employers and employees. With the end of the national emergency, one of the main impacts will occur with COBRA extensions.

IMPORTANT NOTICE RELATED TO COBRA DEADLINES

    Background

       This notification is to information that due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the federal government has extended deadlines for taking certain actions relevant to your rights under the Consolidated         Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act (COBRA) and your group health benefits.

         As a result, when calculating the deadlines set forth below, your group health plan will not count the period beginning on March 1, 2020, an ending 60 days after the federal government has announced             the end of the "National Emergency" period.  However, the new deadline will not be delayed more than one year after the date of the original deadline.

     What This Means for Election Periods

        All extensions granted during the pandemic will end at 11:59 p.m. on July 10, 2023, which includes COBRA, HIPAA special enrollment events, Plan Notice, and Claims and Appeals.

         If a participant has COBRA coverage as of May, 11, 2023, then generally, beginning July 11, 2023, pre-pandemic COBRA time periods will return based on federal COBRA compliance guidelines. In the         event of an initial qualifying even, an eligible qualified beneficiary will now have:

                A 60-day election period, removing the "until the earlier of (a) one-year from the date they were first eligible extension or (b) 60 days from the announced end of COVID-19 national emergency that                 had been in place. In no case will an extension period exceed one year.

         According to the U.S. Department of Labor extension guidelines, if participants are coming off an extension that ends at 11:59 p.m. on July 10, 2023, the remaining election period or premium grace         period will be applied on July 11, 2023

        Eligible participants who are eligible for COBRA on May 12, 2023 through July 10, 2023, will be subject to a 60-day election period on July 11, 2023.

    What This Means for Payment Periods

        The COBRA payment periods also were impacted by the extensions granted by the federal agencies that enforce COBRA requirements, which include the Treasury, Department of Labor, and the IRS.              These extensions also end as of July 10, 2023, and payment periods will revert back to what they were pre-pandemic, as listed below:

                A participant has 45 days to remit their initial premium payment

                A participant must then remit a premium payment every 30 days to continue coverage

    What Employers Need to Know

         With the ending of the COVID-19 national emergency, beginning July 10, 2023, employers also must revert back to the pre-pandemic election notice deadlines, as follows:

               14 days to send notice to qualified beneficiaries following a qualifying event, or

                44 days to send notice for employers who are plan administrators     

    Where to Find More Information

            Read the Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) ** published by the IRS and DOL

                https://www.dol.gov/agencies/ebsa/about-ebsa/our-activities/resource-center/faqs/aca-part-58