- 4,096
“Does The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act subsidy apply to “voluntary”
benefit plans where the employee pays 100% of
the cost of the plan?
Under certain voluntary plans (such as dental and vision,
for example) employees pay 100% of the premium.
However, to the extent that such programs are subject
to COBRA continuation, they would be eligible for the
subsidy. Employers have complained that they should
not be paying a subsidy for a program that was voluntary,
but ARRA does not exempt these plans. Further, since
employers will obtain a refund of the subsidy through
their payroll taxes, these programs are being funded by
the federal government, not the employer.”
This is really amazing that voluntary benefits are being covered. If you have cobra eligible groups where your running voluntary products through Cobra the employer needs to know about this.
This information came from UHC
benefit plans where the employee pays 100% of
the cost of the plan?
Under certain voluntary plans (such as dental and vision,
for example) employees pay 100% of the premium.
However, to the extent that such programs are subject
to COBRA continuation, they would be eligible for the
subsidy. Employers have complained that they should
not be paying a subsidy for a program that was voluntary,
but ARRA does not exempt these plans. Further, since
employers will obtain a refund of the subsidy through
their payroll taxes, these programs are being funded by
the federal government, not the employer.”
This is really amazing that voluntary benefits are being covered. If you have cobra eligible groups where your running voluntary products through Cobra the employer needs to know about this.
This information came from UHC
Last edited: