After a series of extensions, it looks like the federal COBRA premium subsidy program will come to an end on Aug. 31 – unless some last-minute extension is passed.
However, an extension looks unlikely as Congress hasn’t taken any action to extend the subsidy.
If your company has any COBRA participants who are still receiving the subsidy, you’ll may want to give them notice that the program is coming to an end very soon.
The last group of eligible participants – individuals whose COBRA assistance began in May 2010 – could collect the subsidy for 15 months. So, their eligibility runs out at the end of the month.
After Aug. 31, if individuals want to keep their COBRA coverage they’ll need to pay 100% of the premiums; the subsidy covered 65% of eligible individuals premiums.