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MARCH 2010 – NEW EXTENSION AND EXPANSION OF COBRA PREMIUM SUBSIDY PROGRAM
On March 2, 2010, the Temporary Extension Act of 2010 ("Extension Act") was signed into law extending and expanding (once again) the federal COBRA premium subsidy program. (The program was originally enacted on February 17, 2009, and has now been modified twice - on December 21, 2009 and again last week.) In general, the program subsidizes 65% of COBRA premiums for up to 15 months for individuals eligible for COBRA due to [...]
FEBRUARY 2010 – INTERIM FINAL REGULATIONS UNDER MHPAEA
On January 29, 2010, the IRS, DOL, and HHS issued interim final regulations implementing the Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act of 2008 ("MHPAEA"). The MHPAEA generally requires group health plans that provide mental health and/or substance use disorder benefits ("MH/SUD benefits" for short) to provide such benefits on an equivalent basis with any medical/surgical benefits. In general, the MHPAEA is effective for plan years beginning after October 3, 2009, and [...]