Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1985. A federal statute requiring employers that offer group health coverage to their employees to continue to do so for a prescribed period (usu. 18 to 36 months) after employment has terminated so that the former employee can continue to benefit from group-health rates until becoming a member of another health-insurance plan. • The statute temporarily continues group coverage for a person no longer entitled to receive it, such as a terminated employee or an overage dependent. One of the “qualifying events” justifying the continuation of group-health-insurance benefits is divorce or legal separation. So COBRA often provides critical transitional coverage until a divorced spouse and children can arrange for new health insurance. The period of transitional coverage is up to 36 months, and an applicant spouse of the employee must make written application to the employer within 60 days of the separation or divorce. — Abbr. COBRA. [Cases: Pensions 21, 127.
1. C.J.S. Pensions and Retirement Plans and Benefits § 7.]
“In the absence of any type of statutory vesting provision (which would render benefits nonforfeitable), termi-nated employees were generally left without health care coverage while they were looking for another job. While some state insurance laws provide for limited continuation coverage or individual conversion options, these alternatives were not available in all states …. Thus, COBRA was designed to fill this void, by providing a statutorily mandated mechanism for enabling terminated employees (and their eligible family members) to continue to have access to group health coverage at group rates until they can get another job or otherwise arrange for replacement coverage.” I.M. Golub et al., COBRA Handbook § 1.1, at 1–2 (1994).
双语律师Terence，国际知名法学院法律专业，擅长翻译各类与
油气、资源与采矿业相关的法律文件。
