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Employee Misses First COBRA Premium Payment, What Happens?

I have an employee that has followed the guidelines to the letter of the COBRA law. However, he still has not made his payment but has time left. The carrier he is insured with will only go back 60 days to terminate someone out of their system. When my employee fails to make his payment (I am sure he will not) the carrier will not go back to his qualifying event date to term him. So my group will be left holding the bag for the premium for 2 months. Can the carrier refuse to terminate back to the qualifying date? I mean legally?

The employee is responsible for making all payments for the COBRA coverage. If they do not make that first payment, they would not be able to continue the group health insurance through COBRA. If payment is made the insurance is retroactive to the last day of employment. An employer is not required by law to continue the health insurance through COBRA if payment has not been made. The insurance carrier needs to be notified that the employee is no longer employed. The carrier is not required to continue the health insurance policy if the employee fails to pay.

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