COBRA subsidies under the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (ARPA) end on Sept. 30, 2021, which means businesses must send expiration notices to former employees and other eligible individuals whose COBRA premiums have been covered by the subsidy.
Plan administrators must notify assistance-eligible individuals (AEIs) at least 15 days (but no more than 45 days) before they will lose their COBRA subsidy. This does not mean they will lose their COBRA coverage; it just means they have to start paying for it on their own. For AEIs whose subsidies will expire on Sept. 30, 2021, notices must be sent between Aug. 16 and Sept. 15, 2021.
Subsidy expiration notices must, at a minimum, include the following information:
- A prominent identification of the date the subsidy will expire.
- A statement that the AEI may be eligible for coverage without a subsidy through COBRA or coverage under a group health plan.
The United States Department of Labor has provided a model notice.
