Mandated Health Benefits: The COBRA Guide

The health plan market may be changing due to health reform, but one major compliance burden remains the same — COBRA’s continuation coverage rules. You have to effectively meet the COBRA law’s myriad eligibility, notice and recordkeeping obligations — plus deal with new reform and other regulatory requirements. And the consequences of inadequate compliance with COBRA are high — you could face federal penalties and lawsuits. So now more than ever, you need a resource with a proven track record of helping thousands of professionals run their COBRA programs smoothly.

With Mandated Health Benefits: The COBRA Guide, you can:

Major Topics Covered

Mandated Health Benefits: The COBRA Guide provides you the tools you need to quickly and accurately comply with COBRA. You will find practical advice, helpful clarifications, easy examples, sample notices and more all to help you avoid costly errors and oversights.

The two-volume Guide gives you instant answers to any question you have on COBRA law and its implications. It’s conveniently organized for easy, speedy use. PLUS, you’ll get quarterly updates of COBRA-related changes and quarterly newsletters to brief you on new rules, key court interpretations and efficient new compliance procedures.

Summary of Contents

• COBRA Questions and Answers
• Introduction and Overview
• Eligibility for Continuation Coverage
• Type of Continuation Coverage
• Administrative Requirements
• Determining and Collecting Premiums
• Penalties for Noncompliance
• Federal Statutes
• Federal Regulations
• Administrative Rulings
• Court Cases
• State Laws: Continuation of Health Benefits
  
  

Format and Frequency

• Two volume Manual
• Quarterly Newsletter
• Quarterly Updates

Authors and Editors

Paul M. Hamburger is co-Chair of the Employee Benefits, Executive Compensation and ERISA Litigation Practice Center and head of the Washington, DC office of the law firm Proskauer Rose LLP. He is also a leader of the Practice Center’s health and welfare subgroup and a member of Proskauer’s Health Care Reform Task Force. Mr. Hamburger has more than 25 years of experience in advising employers and administrators, and is the author of numerous articles and publications on COBRA and other employee benefits issues affecting pension and welfare plans. Mr. Hamburger is managing author of The New Health Care Reform Law: What Employers Need to Know (A Q&A Guide), 5th Edition. Mr. Hamburger is also author and contributing editor ofMandated Health Benefits: The COBRA Guide, as well as co-author of the Guide to Assigning and Loaning Benefit Plan Money and the Pension Plan Fix-It Handbook, all published by Thompson Information Services.

Editorial Advisory Board for Mandated Health Benefits: The COBRA Guide

Kathryn Bakich, Esq.
The Segal Company 
Washington, D.C.

Rich Glass, J.D.
Mercer Health & Benefits LLC
Dallas

Paul M. Hamburger, Esq.
Proskauer Rose LLP
Washington, D.C.

Jack B. Helitzer, Esq.
Fairfax, Va.

Joanne Hustead, Esq.
The Segal Company 
Washington, D.C.

Michael Laffey, Esq.
Laffey & Associates, P.C.
Carnegie, Pa.

Mark E. Lutes, Esq.
Epstein Becker & Green, P.C.
Washington, D.C.

Peter J. Marathas, Jr., Esq.
Proskauer Rose LLP
Boston

James R. Napoli
Constangy, Brooks & Smith, LLP
Fairfax, Va.

Jon A. Neiditz, Esq.
Kilpatrick Townsend & Stockton LLP
Atlanta

Adam V. Russo, Esq.
The Phia Group, LLC
Boston

Mark L. Stember, Esq.
Kilpatrick Townsend & Stockton LLP
Washington, D.C.