A lift for the laid-off, COBRA changes bedevil employers
MAy 18, 2009

Puget Sound Business Journal (Seattle) - by Peter Neurath Contributing WriterThe federal government has begun picking up most of the tab for laid-off workers to continue their health coverage, but employers are feeling pinched by additional costs and hassles.Since 1985, employees who left their jobs could stay covered under the federal Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act, or COBRA. The ex-workers had to pay 100 percent of the premium plus 2 percent for administrative costs.President Barack Obama’s federal stimulus bill extends COBRA coverage to employees who’ve been involuntarily terminated since Sept. 1. Employees now pay only 35 percent of the premium, for up to nine months.Employers shoulder the other 65 percent, but can recapture this expense later by taking a credit against federal payroll taxes.
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