Cue’s attorneys have advised us that there are significant changes taking place to worker’s COBRA benefits.

COBRA benefits are your health, dental and vision benefits continued, at your cost, when you separate from employment. Continuation of those benefits is the workers’ choice, but the law requires the employer to offer you the choice to continue or discontinue them.

Until now, the law required all employees who terminate employment and choose to continue their health coverage to pay for it, something that’s pretty hard for most workers to do.

On February 17, 2009, however, President Obama signed legislation that, as part of the economic stimulus bill, now provides that the federal government pay 65% of the cost of COBRA coverage to any worker who loses their employment-based health coverage because of an involuntary termination – either layoff or firing. This subsidy becomes (or became) effective March 1, 2009.

The COBRA period of coverage is up to 18 months; this legislation provides for the 65% federal subsidy for 9 of those 18 months. After that, the worker has to pay all of it. The subsidy is applied to the monthly COBRA cost of benefits.

The employer (UCSC) is required to notify anyone involuntarily terminated after September 1, 2008 no later than April 18. Anyone terminated or laid off from now through the end of 2009 will be eligible for the subsidy. A worker has up to 60 days after receiving the notice of COBRA option to decide whether or not to take it and 45 additional days after that to pay for it.

CUE’s attorneys will be advising Local 10 and individual workers on a case-by-case basis. Please contact Organizer Nora Hochman, at 420.0258, with specific questions about your individual COBRA coverage possibilities.