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General information about the COBRA subsidy and additional resources

1. The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) of 2009: Basic information about the portion of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) of 2009 that deals with COBRA is available online at http://frwebgate.access.gpo.gov/cgi-bin/getdoc.cgi?dbname=111_cong_bills&docid=f:h1enr.pdf
2. The Department of Labor: The Department of Labor's FAQ on this portion of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) of 2009 is available at http://www.dol.gov/ebsa/newsroom/fsCOBRApremiumreduction.html
   • Employer notices http://www.dol.gov/ebsa/COBRAmodelnotice.html
   • FAQs for Employers on the COBRA Premium Reduction http://www.dol.gov/ebsa/faqs/faq-cobra-premiumreductionER.html
   • Expanded FAQs for Employees on the COBRA Premium Reduction http://www.dol.gov/ebsa/faqs/faq-cobra-premiumreductionEE.html
   • Updated FAQs for Employees on General COBRA Provisions http://www.dol.gov/ebsa/faqs/faq_consumer_cobra.html
3. Question: The human resources manager at my former employer's office knows nothing about this subsidy. Why is that?
   • Answer: There are a few possible reasons.
     • The most likely reason is that this stimulus bill is extremely new and some employers are not yet aware of it. As of the week of March 16, 2009, the Department of Labor had sent out guidelines to employers and benefits administrators.
     • Your employer may outsource their benefits administration to a third party consultant and that benefits consultant may be waiting to see a complete plan before they contact your former employer.
     • You or your former company may not offer a group plan that qualifies for COBRA, or the subsidy. Check our COBRA subsidy FAQ for more details on the subsidy and COBRA.
4. Question: Who can I call if I have questions that I can't answer?
   • Answer:  Start by letting your former employer know you want the subsidy once it's available and make sure they have your most recent contact information so that they can reach out to you once they're set up. If you haven't heard from your former employer/ benefits administrator by April 1, 2009, check in on the status of your enrollment. In addition to that, you can also:
   • Contact the Department of Labor through their National Toll-Free Contact Center at 1-866-4-872-365, TTY: 1-877-889-5627.
   • Speak to a licensed health insurance agent from eHealthInsurance.com by calling our call-center at 1-800-977-8860. Our agents are staying up-to-date on the subsidy information and can talk to you about alternative coverage options.