Q.- An employee terminated at age 70. Since he was older than age 65, should his dependents be offered 18 or 36 months of COBRA coverage?
A.- The maximum duration of COBRA coverage for dependents if an employee is entitled to Medicare prior to experiencing a COBRA qualifying event is 36 months. However, just being eligible to enroll in Medicare does not constitute being entitled to Medicare benefits which requires actual enrollment. The employee and dependents should be offered 18 months of COBRA due to termination of employment. If the employee shows proof of being entitled to Medicare before the qualifying event, you can approve an extension of COBRA duration for the dependents.
