End of COVID-19 National Emergencies
February 28, 2023
The White House announced that the COVID-19 National Emergencies will end on May 11, 2023. This means that the temporary requirement to extend various benefit plan deadlines due to the COVID-19 pandemic will end.
What Does This Mean for You?
The temporary extensions announced in EBSA Disaster Relief Notice 2020-01 and clarified in EBSA Disaster Relief Notice 2021-01 will expire as of May 11, 2023 affecting COBRA deadlines such as:
- Employer or Plan Administrators’ 44-day period to provide COBRA Rights Notifications to Qualified Beneficiaries;
- Qualified Beneficiaries 60-day COBRA election period; and
- Qualified Beneficiaries’ 30-day and 45-day COBRA premiums payment due dates
Please note that EBSA Disaster Relief Notice 2021-01 clarified that the maximum tolling period is one year applied on an individual basis only.
An example of how this transition may affect an employee eligible for COBRA:
- If an employee’s 60-day COBRA election period began on August 1, 2022, their election period’s tolling period will end as of July 10, 2023. That employee must elect COBRA coverage within 60 days of July 10th.
- If an employee’s COBRA election period began one month earlier on July 1, 2022, their election period’s tolling period will end on July 1, 2023 due to the maximum one-year tolling period. That employee’s 60-day election period begins on July 1, 2023.