ML BeneBits

EXAMINING A RANGE OF EMPLOYEE BENEFITS
AND EXECUTIVE COMPENSATION ISSUES

The American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (ARPA) provides for a 100% COBRA premium subsidy for up to six months, from April 1, 2021 through September 30, 2021, for Assistance Eligible Individuals (AEIs) as defined under the guidance. Our prior blog posts, DOL Issues ARPA COBRA Subsidy Model Notices and FAQs and IRS Provides Second Round of FAQs on COBRA Subsidies, provide more information about the ARPA COBRA subsidy and the associated notice requirements.

As we get closer to the September 30 expiration date of the COBRA premium subsidy provided under the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA), the IRS has issued a second set of FAQs in Notice 2021-46 (Notice) to supplement its prior guidance and provide some specific answers to questions that remained unanswered. The first set of IRS FAQs were provided under Notice 2021-31, which we summarized in our previous LawFlash.

On July 19, the US Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, and Treasury (the Departments) issued Part 47 of their frequently asked questions (FAQs) about Affordable Care Act (ACA) implementation. There are three new FAQs, all of which pertain to coverage of pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) under Section 2713 of the Public Health Service Act (PHS Act). PrEP is an antiretroviral medication for individuals at high risk of contracting human immunodeficiency virus (HIV).

Addressing what they call the four major “crises” facing the nation—COVID-19, the economy, climate, and inequity—US President Joseph Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris have consistently framed many of their most important executive actions and policy proposals as attempts to prioritize one or more of these four policy concerns. Read our LawFlash for a recap of some of the more wide-reaching and impactful (or in some cases, potentially impactful) executive orders, legislative actions, policy proposals, and other developments during the first 100 days of the Biden-Harris administration.
As we described in our March 15, 2021 LawFlash, the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (ARPA) includes a 100% COBRA premium subsidy for any employee or dependent who is a COBRA qualified beneficiary (or will become one) resulting from an involuntary termination of employment or a reduction of hours (referred to as an Eligible Individual).
Join Morgan Lewis this month for these programs on employee benefits and executive compensation.
At the 11th hour, the US Department of Labor’s Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA), with coordination and review by the Internal Revenue Service and the Department of Health and Human Services (collectively, the Agencies), finally issued guidance on the suspension of certain deadlines under the Employee Retirement Income Securities Act of 1974, as amended (ERISA) and the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (Code). As we described in our February 25, 2021 blog post, the Agencies previously issued EBSA Disaster Relief Notice 2020-01 and a joint final rule (collectively, Guidance) suspending timeframes for special enrollment elections, claims and appeals filing deadlines, and COBRA notice, election, and premium payment deadlines.