As we previously published in our December 21, 2009 Legal Alert, on December 19, President Obama signed into law the Department of Defense Appropriations Act of 2010 (the "2010 DOD Act") extending the 65% COBRA subsidy that had been previously enacted under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (the "ARRA"). Under the ARRA, eligibility for the 9-month subsidy was scheduled to end December 31, 2009. The 2010 DOD Act made several important modifications to the ARRA, including: (1) extending eligibility for the subsidy to individuals who are terminated through February 28, 2010 ("assistance eligible individuals" or "AEI"s); (2) lengthening the maximum duration of the subsidy from 9 to 15 months; and (3) adding new notification requirements. The 2010 DOD Act also clarified that eligibility for the subsidy depends upon termination date – not the date on which the AEI would otherwise be eligible for COBRA coverage.
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