The COBRA subsidy lives on. President Obama has signed legislation that would extend benefits for the unemployed through the end of May.
That means employers are again required to fork over 65% of the premiums for involuntarily terminated workers who wish to continue coverage under the company’s health plan. The subsidy can then be recouped through credits on payroll taxes.
The new legislation will probably mean a few administrative headaches for employers as workers whose eligibility had been suspended during a recent two-week gap in benefits now apply for the subsidy retroactively.
The bill to extend the aid to the unemployed — which also continues unemployment payments through May — won final Senate passage by a vote of 59-38. Three Republicans — Olympia Snowe and Susan Collins of Maine, and George Voinovich of Ohio — voted yes.
