Industry News

On February 18, 2021, the Groom Law Group released its brief, Breaking Down the “Outbreak Period” Extensions: Clock May Begin Ticking Soon for Important Deadlines Suspended Due to COVID-19. The brief covers guidance related to the COVID-19 pandemic that was issued by the Departments of Labor (“DOL”) and Treasury (together the “Departments”) on April 29, 2020. The guidance extended certain deadlines related to retirement, health and welfare plans in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Some of the guidance was federal regulations (the “Final Rule”), which extended the deadlines to elect COBRA, pay COBRA premiums, elect HIPAA special enrollment, and file benefit claims, appeals, and external review requests during the “Outbreak Period” related to COVID-19. The brief refers to the suspension of those deadlines as the “Outbreak Period Extensions.”

According to the brief, “There has been significant confusion regarding how employers, plans, and administrators should administer the Outbreak Period Extensions, and with the COVID-19 crisis continuing to drag on, there are many questions regarding when the Outbreak Period Extensions will expire. Adding to the confusion is a one-year statutory limit that applies to extensions mandated by the Departments. Since the Outbreak Period Extensions were first effective as of March 1, 2020, that one-year limit will be up shortly…. [W]hile the Departments have not provided any further guidance on this issue, plans and plan administrators should decide whether to end the extensions on midnight on February 28, 2021 based on this one-year limit.”

The brief is available here.