On Tuesday’s ARPA & The Outbreak Period webinar, our Senior Lead Counsel, Michelle Barki continued answering your questions on dependent care, notices, subsidies, and more. We have outlined the questions and answers from this webinar for you below in case you missed it.

If I have a DCA plan that runs on a plan year and renewed 8/1/2020, can they allow their employees to increase their current elections 1/1/2021?

Yes, the DCAP Rule says they can go back to 1/1/21, and when the IRS looks at DCAP, they are...

Over the past few weeks, we have received many questions regarding the ongoing Outbreak Period and the newly signed American Rescue Plan Act. Our senior Legal Counsel, Michelle Barki, took the time to answer them all for you. This morning during our webinar, we answered general questions, subsidy-related questions, and voluntary versus involuntary termination questions. Next Tuesday, for Part 2, we will discuss Depended Care and Notices. In case you missed it, here are the questions and answers:

Will COBRA members be able to have a coverage gap?

There is a special...

Last year on May 4, the Agencies, Department of Labor (DOL), the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), and the IRS issued a joint notice on providing additional relief due to the National Emergency. Former President Trump declared the National Emergency on March 13, 2020, in response to the fast-spreading Coronavirus. As a result, the Agencies provided an “extension of certain timeframes for employee benefit plans, participants, and beneficiaries affected by COVID-19." Thus, the “Outbreak Period” began. 

The Outbreak Period, which was March 1, 2020, through 60 after the end of the National Emergency, ...

In Florida, the Law firm of Wensel, Fenton, and Cabassa, P.A. files class-action lawsuits when terminated employees are not provided a COBRA notice that strictly follows the Model Notice

put out by the DOL. On June 18, 2020, one such class-action suit was filed by a former southwest airline employee who stated the Notice received was incomplete and confusing. The Complaint also outlined that the COBRA Notice was not provided within 44 days of termination.

The Complaint alleged the Plaintiff experienced a qualifying event on May 8, 2019, and that she did not get her COBRA Notice until August 6, 2019....