On December 21, 2009, President Obama signed the Fiscal Year 2010 Defense Appropriations Act into law. The Act will extend the current nine-month COBRA subsidy for an additional six months, allowing for a total of 15 months of COBRA subsidy. The Act will also extend eligibility to workers who are involuntarily terminated through February 28, 2010; prior to the enactment, the law covered workers involuntarily terminated through December 31, 2009. Please note that the Fiscal Year 2010 Defense Appropriations Act requires employers to provide current and future COBRA beneficiaries with notice of this new extension.
Traci Bixenmann, Legal Administrator