On Saturday, December 19, 2009, the U.S. Senate passed the Fiscal Year 2010 Department of Defense (DOD) Appropriations Act by a vote of 88-10.  This federal spending bill included important provisions to both    

1. Extend and expand the COBRA subsidy program that was enacted under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA)
   
2. Extend expanded unemployment benefits through February 28, 2010.
   

The House also passed this same spending bill on December 16, 2009 by a vote of 395-34.  President Obama immediately signed this bill into law (P.L. No: 111-118) after Senate passage on December 19, 2009.

COBRA

The COBRA subsidy program extension in the DOD bill will:

• Expand the ARRA’s COBRA premium subsidy period from nine to 15 months
• Change the end date for eligibility for the subsidy from December 31, 2009, to February 28, 2010
• Provide a retroactive period of 60 days (commences upon enactment) for payment of premiums for eligible individuals whose subsidy period expired on November 30, 2009
• Require a special notice outlining these changes within 60 days to all eligible individuals on COBRA on or after October 31, 2009, or those who are terminated after this date
• Clarify the original COBRA subsidy program, noting that eligibility and notice are based on the timing of the qualifying event