The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) includes assistance for individuals who elect to continue their health care insurance under COBRA after "involuntary termination" from employment. Section 3001, page 396. The unemployed individual need only pay 35% of the health care insurance premium. This applies only to individuals who become unemployed between September 1, 2008 and December 31, 2009.
Query: Does the term "involuntary termination" include people who cease work due to illness?
I am unable to find anything on the Department of Labor website that answers the question.
Before you say that "involuntary termination" cannot possible cover the situation of an individual who has to stop work due to illness, consider that unemployment benefits are denied to those who voluntarily leave employment without good cause attributable to their employer, but in many states, perhaps most, leaving employment due to illness is considered an involuntary leaving which does not disqualify one from receiving unemployment insurance benefits. (If that were not so, why would we keep having cases with the issue of whether receiving unemployment insurance benefits should disqualify one from receiving Social Security disability benefits?) Remember that the Department of Labor will probably be the agency most involved in interpreting the COBRA part of the ARRA. Unemployment insurance is partially federal and the Department of Labor administers the federal part. This "involuntary termination" language comes closer to the unemployment insurance laws than anything else I can think of. A New York Times article mentions issues concerned with the interpretation of "involuntary termination" although not this one.
The Act provides for expedited review by the Department of Labor or the Department of Health and Human Services for anyone appealing from a denial of coverage -- and they do mean expedited -- since the review is supposed to be completed within 15 business days.
Query: Does the term "involuntary termination" include people who cease work due to illness?
I am unable to find anything on the Department of Labor website that answers the question.
Before you say that "involuntary termination" cannot possible cover the situation of an individual who has to stop work due to illness, consider that unemployment benefits are denied to those who voluntarily leave employment without good cause attributable to their employer, but in many states, perhaps most, leaving employment due to illness is considered an involuntary leaving which does not disqualify one from receiving unemployment insurance benefits. (If that were not so, why would we keep having cases with the issue of whether receiving unemployment insurance benefits should disqualify one from receiving Social Security disability benefits?) Remember that the Department of Labor will probably be the agency most involved in interpreting the COBRA part of the ARRA. Unemployment insurance is partially federal and the Department of Labor administers the federal part. This "involuntary termination" language comes closer to the unemployment insurance laws than anything else I can think of. A New York Times article mentions issues concerned with the interpretation of "involuntary termination" although not this one.
The Act provides for expedited review by the Department of Labor or the Department of Health and Human Services for anyone appealing from a denial of coverage -- and they do mean expedited -- since the review is supposed to be completed within 15 business days.
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