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COBRA premium assistance available

3/12/2009 12:00:00 AM

Summary ... The new federal economic stimulus bill provides for a 65% reduction in premiums for eligible individuals who extend their health coverage under COBRA.

Full story ... As you may have heard, the new federal economic stimulus bill provides for a 65% reduction in premiums for eligible individuals who extend their health coverage under terms of the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act (COBRA). For a detailed description of COBRA and how it works, please refer to pages 23-28 in the 2005 Health Plan Summary Plan Description (SPD).

Effective March 1, 2009, you are eligible to pay only 35% of the applicable COBRA premium rate (see below) if you are a COBRA "qualified beneficiary" who meets all of the following requirements:

• You are eligible for COBRA continuation coverage at any time during the period beginning September 1, 2008 and ending December 31, 2009;
• You elect COBRA coverage; and
• You lost or are losing your coverage under this Plan due to your--or your family member's (in the case of dependents)--involuntary termination between September 1, 2008 and December 31, 2009.

The premium reduction starts on March 1, 2009 and ends:

• if you become eligible for other group coverage through your spouse or domestic partner, through a new employer, another guild or Medicare and whether or not you choose to enroll in that plan;
• after 9 months of the reduction; or
• when the maximum period of COBRA coverage ends, whichever comes first.

If you claim you are eligible to pay the reduced premium and upon the review at the federal level you are not eligible for it, you will be liable for the entire premium difference as well as penalties to the federal government. In addition, if your adjusted gross income for 2009 or 2010 is more than $125,000 for individuals (or $250,000 for families), you will owe tax on all or part of the amount of the subsidy.

The formal rules and notices about this special COBRA subsidy are being developed and we will send you more information as soon as we receive it.

The following chart shows the monthly COBRA premium rates before and after the 65% reduction:

AFTRA Health Plan Coverage	Effective March 1, 2009 COBRA Premium Rates Before the 65% Reduction	Effective March 1, 2009 COBRA Premium Rates After 65% Reduction	Effective April 1, 2009 COBRA Premium Rates Before the 65% Reduction	Effective April 1, 2009 COBRA Premium Rates After 65% Reduction
Participant Only	$540	$189	$563	$197
Participant Plus One Dependent	$1,107	$387	$1,154	$404
Participant Plus Two or More Dependents	$1,620	$567	$1,689	$591

 

Links to other Web sites for more information about the COBRA subsidy:

http://www.dol.gov/ebsa/faqs/faq_consumer_cobra.html
http://www.dol.gov/ebsa/newsroom/fsCOBRApremiumreduction.html