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Who Has to Offer COBRA?

COBRA provides group health insurance coverage to employees who might otherwise lose their coverage through job loss or a reduction in work hours. Not all employers are required to provide COBRA benefits.

  1. Requirements

    • Private sector, and state and local government employers must offer COBRA benefits if they have the required number of employees. Employers who have 20 or more employees are typically required to offer COBRA benefits to their employees, according to the U.S. Department of Labor. If a company has employed at least 20 employees for over 50 percent of business days in the previous year, COBRA must be offered.

    Features

    • All part-time employees are counted as a fraction of a full-time employee, calculated by determining the number of hours a part-time employee works, and dividing that number by the number of hours required for full-time employees. Companies that offer COBRA must notify all employees that coverage is available.

    Considerations

    • Churches, certain church-related organizations, and the federal government are not required to offer COBRA benefits to their employees.

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