Q.- A former employee had a COBRA qualifying event. His 60 days to elect continuation coverage ended last week. I heard that even though he didn’t elect COBRA within 60 days, he actually has a full year to elect. Is this true?
A.- Yes. COBRA timeframes for electing and paying for coverage were changed during the COVID-19 National Emergency. Continuants now have an extra year to elect COBRA coverage and an extra year to make their COBRA premium payments. The extra time to elect/pay for coverage ends one year after it begins, or 60 days after the announced end of the National Emergency, whichever is earlier. As of the date of this question, the National Emergency is still in place.