2562 Federal Register / Vol. 75, No. 10 / Friday, January 15, 2010 / Notices 

1 In general, an ‘‘Assistance Eligible Individual’’ is 

an individual who has experienced an involuntary 

termination of employment that is a COBRA 

‘‘qualifying event’’ at any time from September 1, 

2008 through February 28, 2010 if he or she elects 

such COBRA coverage. 

2Under ARRA, as amended, the Secretary 

generally is responsible for developing all of the 

model notices with the exception of model notices 

relating to Temporary Continuation Coverage under 

5 U.S.C. 8905a, which is the responsibility of the 

Office of Personnel Management (OPM). In 

developing the original ARRA model notices, the 

Department was required to, and did, consult with 

the Departments of the Treasury and Health and 

Human Services, OPM, the National Association of 

Insurance Commissioners, and plan administrators 

and other entities responsible for providing COBRA 

continuation coverage. This set of models is an 

update of the originals and was created in 

consultation with staff at the Departments of the 

Treasury and Health and Human Services. 

3 In the event of a qualifying event that occurs 

prior to the 2010 DOD Act’s December 19, 2009 date 

of enactment, this notice need not be provided to 

the extent that proper notice has already been 

provided. However, in cases where the qualifying 

event was a termination of employment, the 

Premium Assistance Extension Notice may be used 

to satisfy the statutory requirement to notify 

individuals of their new rights under ARRA, as 

amended. 

maximus) that were born in the wild to 

worldwide locations for the purpose of 

enhancement of the species through 

conservation education. The permit 

numbers and animals are: 080731, Jazz; 

716917, Betty. This notification covers 

activities to be conducted by the 

applicant over a three-year period and 

the import of any potential progeny 

born while overseas. 

Dated: January 8, 2010. 

Brenda Tapia, 

Senior Permit Biologist, Branch of Permits, 

Division of Management Authority. 

[FR Doc. 2010–720 Filed 1–14– 10; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4310–55–S 

DEPARTMENT OF LABOR 

Employee Benefits Security 

Administration 

Publication of Model Notices for Health 

Care Continuation Coverage Provided 

Pursuant to the Consolidated Omnibus 

Budget Reconciliation Act (COBRA) 

and Other Health Care Continuation 

Coverage, as Required by the 

American Recovery and Reinvestment 

Act of 2009 (ARRA), as Amended by 

the Department of Defense 

Appropriations Act, 2010, Notice 

AGENCY: Employee Benefits Security 

Administration, Department of Labor. 

ACTION: Notice of the Availability of the 

Model Health Care Continuation 

Coverage Notices Required by ARRA, as 

amended. 

SUMMARY: On December 19, 2009, 

President Obama signed the Department 

of Defense Appropriations Act, 2010 

(Pub. L. 111–118), which extended the 

availability of the health care 

continuation coverage premium 

reduction provided for COBRA and 

other health care continuation coverage 

as required by the American Recovery 

and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) of 2009 

(Pub. L. 111–5). ARRA, as amended, 

retained the requirement that the 

Secretary of Labor (the Secretary), in 

consultation with the Secretaries of the 

Treasury and Health and Human 

Services, develop model notices. These 

models are for use by group health plans 

and other entities that, pursuant to 

ARRA, as amended, must provide 

notices of the availability of premium 

reductions and additional election 

periods for health care continuation 

coverage. This document announces the 

availability of the model health care 

continuation coverage notices required 

by ARRA, as amended. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Kevin Horahan or Mark Connor, Office 

of Health Plan Standards and 

Compliance Assistance, Employee 

Benefits Security Administration, (202) 

693–8335. This is not a toll-free number. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Background 

The Consolidated Omnibus Budget 

Reconciliation Act of 1985 (COBRA) 

created the health care continuation 

coverage provisions of Title I of the 

Employee Retirement Income Security 

Act of 1974 (ERISA), the Internal 

Revenue Code (Code), and the Public 

Health Service Act (PHS Act). These 

provisions are commonly referred to as 

the ‘‘COBRA continuation provisions,’’ 

and the continuation coverage that they 

mandate is commonly referred to as 

‘‘COBRA continuation coverage.’’ Group 

health plans subject to the Federal 

COBRA continuation provisions are 

subject to ARRA’s premium reduction 

provisions and notice requirements. The 

Federal COBRA continuation coverage 

provisions do not apply to group health 

plans sponsored by employers with 

fewer than 20 employees. Many States 

require health insurance issuers that 

provide group health insurance 

coverage to plans not subject to the 

COBRA continuation provisions to 

provide comparable continuation 

coverage. Such continuation coverage 

provided pursuant to State law is also 

subject to ARRA’s premium reduction 

provisions and notice requirements. 

II. Description of the Model Notices 

a. In General 

ARRA mandates the provision of 

certain notices. Each of these notices 

must include: a prominent description 

of the availability of the premium 

reduction, including any conditions on 

the entitlement; a model form to request 

treatment as an ‘‘Assistance Eligible 

Individual’’; 1 the name, address, and 

telephone number of the plan 

administrator (and any other person 

with information about the premium 

reduction); a description of the 

obligation of individuals paying 

reduced premiums who become eligible 

for other coverage to notify the plan; 

and (if applicable) a description of the 

opportunity to switch coverage options. 

The Department of Labor (the 

Department) created these model 

notices to cover an array of situations in 

order to deal with the complexity of the 

various scenarios facing dislocated 

workers and their families. In an effort 

to ensure that the notices include all of 

the information required under ARRA, 

as amended, while minimizing the 

burden imposed on group health plans 

and issuers, the Department has created 

several packages. As with those 

developed by the Department originally 

under ARRA, each of the new packages 

is designed for a particular group of 

qualified beneficiaries, and contains all 

of the information needed to satisfy the 

content requirements for ARRA’s 

amended notice provisions. The 

packages include the following 

disclosures: 

• A summary of ARRA’s premium 

reduction provisions. 

• A form to request the premium 

reduction. 

• A form for plans (or issuers) that 

permit qualified beneficiaries to switch 

coverage options to use to satisfy 

ARRA’s requirement to give notice of 

this option. 

• A form for an individual to use to 

satisfy ARRA’s requirement to notify the 

plan (or issuer) that the individual is 

eligible for other group health plan 

coverage or Medicare. 

• COBRA election forms and 

information, as appropriate. 

b. General Notice 

The amended General Notice is 

required to be sent by plans that are 

subject to the COBRA continuation 

provisions under Federal law.2 It must 

include the information described above 

and be provided to ALL qualified 

beneficiaries, not just covered 

employees, who experience a qualifying 

event through February 28, 2010.3

The Department has updated the 

earlier version of this model notice so 

that it includes all of the information 

related to the premium reduction and 


jlentini on DSKJ8SOYB1PROD with NOTICES
Federal Register / Vol. 75, No. 10 / Friday, January 15, 2010 / Notices 2563 

4The 60-day period for electing COBRA 

continuation coverage is measured from when a 

complete notice is provided. ARRA provides that 

COBRA election notices provided for qualifying 

events that are related to a termination occurring 

during the effective dates of the premium reduction 

period are not complete if they fail to include 

information on the availability of the premium 

reduction. 

5See note 3 above. 

6 Generally, individuals do not need to receive 

two notices; if they are one of the two classes of 

individuals described in this paragraph and receive 

the Premium Assistance Extension Notice, they do 

not need to receive the General Notice as well. 

other rights and obligations under 

ARRA, as amended. This model also 

includes all of the information required 

in an election notice required pursuant 

to the Department’s final COBRA notice 

regulations under 29 CFR 2590.606– 

4(b).4 Using this model to provide 

notice to individuals who have 

experienced any qualifying event from 

September 1, 2008 through February 28, 

2010 will satisfy the Department’s 

existing requirements for the content of 

the COBRA election notice as well as 

those imposed by ARRA, as amended. 

c. Alternative Notice 

The amended Alternative Notice is 

required to be sent by issuers that offer 

group health insurance coverage that is 

subject to comparable continuation 

coverage requirements imposed by State 

law. The Alternative Notice must 

include the information described above 

and be provided to ALL qualified 

beneficiaries, not just covered 

employees, who have experienced a 

qualifying event through February 28, 

2010.5 The Department updated the 

earlier version of this model notice. 

However, because continuation 

coverage requirements vary among 

States it should be modified to reflect 

the requirements of the applicable State 

law. Issuers of group health insurance 

coverage subject to this notice 

requirement should feel free to use the 

model Alternative Notice or the model 

General Notice (as appropriate). 

d. Premium Assistance Extension Notice 

The Premium Assistance Extension 

Notice is required to be sent by plans 

and other entities that are subject to 

continuation of health coverage 

provisions under either Federal or State 

law. This notice serves several 

purposes. It serves as a notice of the 

extension of the premium assistance 

from nine to 15 months for individuals 

who were receiving premium assistance 

as of October 31, 2009. It also provides 

this information to individuals who 

became Assistance Eligible Individuals, 

or who experienced a qualifying event 

that was the termination of a covered 

employee’s employment, between 

October 31, 2009 and December 19, 

2009, but who were provided a notice 

that did not include the information 

required by ARRA, as amended by the 

Department of Defense Appropriations 

Act, 2010.6 Notices for these individuals 

must be provided by February 17, 2010, 

which is 60 days from the December 19, 

2009 date of enactment. Additionally, 

this notice may be used to notify 

individuals who are in a ‘‘transition 

period’’ of their new right to make a 

retroactive, reduced payment. The 

transition period is the first period of 

coverage for which the premium 

assistance would apply due to the 

extension from nine to 15 months. 

These individuals have received the full 

nine months of premium assistance 

required under ARRA and either did not 

make any payment for subsequent 

periods of coverage, made a payment of 

35% (or any amount that is less than 

100% of the full premium), or made a 

payment of the full premium otherwise 

required to maintain coverage absent the 

subsidy. The notice must be provided to 

these individuals within the first 60 

days of their transition period. The 

Department has created a single model 

notice that can be used in any of the 

above circumstances. 

III. For Additional Information 

For additional information about 

ARRA’s COBRA premium reduction 

provisions as amended by the 

Department of Defense Appropriations 

Act, 2010, contact the Department’s 

Employee Benefits Security 

Administration’s Benefits Advisors at 1– 

866–444–3272. In addition, the 

Employee Benefits Security 

Administration has developed a 

dedicated COBRA Web page http:// 

www.dol.gov/COBRA that will contain 

information on the program as it is 

developed. Subscribe to this page to get 

up-to-date fact sheets, FAQs, model 

notices, and applications. 

IV. Paperwork Reduction Act 

Statement 

According to the Paperwork 

Reduction Act of 1995 (Pub. L. 104–13) 

(PRA), no persons are required to 

respond to a collection of information 

unless such collection displays a valid 

Office of Management and Budget 

(OMB) control number. The Department 

notes that a Federal agency cannot 

conduct or sponsor a collection of 

information unless it is approved by 

OMB under the PRA, and displays a 

currently valid OMB control number; 

further, the public is not required to 

respond to a collection of information 

unless it displays a currently valid OMB 

control number. See 44 U.S.C. 3507. 

Also, notwithstanding any other 

provisions of law, no person shall be 

subject to penalty for failing to comply 

with a collection of information if the 

collection of information does not 

display a currently valid OMB control 

number. See 44 U.S.C. 3512. 

This Notice revises the collections of 

information contained in the ICR titled 

Notice Requirements of the Health Care 

Continuation Coverage Provisions 

approved under OMB Control Number 

1210–0123. OMB has approved this 

revision to the ICR pursuant to the 

emergency review procedures under 5 

CFR 1320.13. The public reporting 

burden for this collection of information 

is estimated to average approximately 3 

minutes per respondent, including time 

for gathering and maintaining the data 

needed to complete the required 

disclosure. There is also an additional 

$0.39 average cost per response for 

mailing costs. Interested parties are 

encouraged to send comments regarding 

the burden estimate or any other aspect 

of this collection of information, 

including suggestions for reducing this 

burden, to the U.S. Department of Labor, 

Office of the Chief Information Officer, 

Attention: Departmental Clearance 

Officer, 200 Constitution Avenue, NW., 

Room N–1301, Washington, DC 20210 

or e-mail DOL_PRA_PUBLIC@dol.gov 

and reference the OMB Control Number 

1210–0123. 

V. Models 

The Department has decided to make 

the model notices available in 

modifiable, electronic form on its Web 

site: http://www.dol.gov/COBRA. 

VI. Statutory Authority 

Authority: 29 U.S.C. 1027, 1059, 1135, 

1161–1169, 1191c; Pub. L. 111–5, 123 

Stat. 115, sec. 3001(a)(5), 3001(a)(2)(C), 

3001(a)(7); Pub. L. 111–118, 123 Stat. 

3409; and Secretary of Labor’s Order No. 

6–2009, 74 FR 21524 (May 7, 2009). 

Signed at Washington, DC, this 12th day of 

January 2010. 

Phyllis C. Borzi, 

Assistant Secretary, Employee Benefits 

Security Administration. 

[FR Doc. 2010–752 Filed 1–14–10; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4510–29–P 


jlentini on DSKJ8SOYB1PROD with NOTICES