Dive Brief:
- When an employee leaves an employer, COBRA election notices (which offer those employees a chance to purchase their group healthcare for an extended period) go out. Now, based on a Labor Dept. clarification, employers are allowed to include materials focused on enrolling in health coverage through the Affordable Care Act's marketplaces/public exchanges, according to SHRM.
- SHRM reports that the frequently asked questions (FAQs) within the COBRA election notice explain that the extra information about the ACA Marketplaces "goes beyond the model language."
- In addition, "COBRA election notices may be tailored to particular groups like young adults aging out of dependent coverage on their parents' health plan," according to one of the FAQs. But "In all cases, they are required to be 'easily understood by the average plan participant' and, therefore, information should not be too lengthy or difficult to understand."
Dive Insight:
The main message here is the added leeway employers/plan sponsors now have in terms of offering some alternative healthcare options to departing employees outside of the usual COBRA scenario. That's good, because it may be cost-effective for those specific employees (or family members).
The key is to keep any such notices clearly written and easy to understand, say legal experts. Also, if employers are using a third party party administrator for help with COBRA notices, the latter should be aware of these recent changes.
Employers who want to know more should take advantage of the Labor Dept.'s extensive COBRA page, and of course consult with employment counsel if they are planning on including those ACA-related marketing materials along with the COBRA notices.