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IRS Announces Extension of COBRA Subsidy Eligibility Period

IR-2010-52, April 26, 2010

The Internal Revenue Service announced that workers who lose their jobs during April and May may qualify for a 65-percent subsidy on their COBRA health insurance premiums.

This means that workers who are involuntarily terminated from employment between Sept. 1, 2008, and May 31, 2010, may be eligible for a 65-percent subsidy of their COBRA premiums for a period of up to 15 months, IRS said in a release (IR-2010-52).

The extension in some cases also may help workers who had their hours reduced and later lose their jobs, IRS said. The Continuing Extension Act of 2010 (Pub. L. No. 111-157) reinstated the COBRA subsidy, which had expired March 31.

Text of IR-2010-52 is available at http://op.bna.com/dt.nsf/id/emcy-84vmcp/$File/IR-2010-52.pdf.