Activity in Washington impacts you at home. We have all heard of what is happening with health care and we will need to deal with the final bill when it is reconciled. It is highly likely we will need to make some changes to the way employers provide health benefits in the future.
What is happening now is the new law that extends the COBRA subsidy and adds a few tweaks and extends jobless benefits for an additional 13 to 20 weeks. This was all done through the signing of the Department of Defense Appropriations Act. (DDAD)
This new law:
- extends the subsidy for health insurance benefits through COBRA from nine months to 15 months.
- extends the time frame for eligibility which ended originally on December 31 and now end February 28, 2010.
- increases the benefit by $25 per week
- adds additional notification requirements including advising employees and individuals on the plan of these changes within 60 days of the enactment of the bill(singed into law on December 16, 2009)
As we end this year, we look back and see the many changes in Washington that are happening that impact your business and your employees. You will need to stay on top of these changes and assure that you are acting in good faith.