The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) launched a web site and helpline (866-400-6689) where certain unemployed workers may request expedited review of a denial by their former employers of eligibility for COBRA premium assistance under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA).
CMS has contracted with MAXIMUS Federal Services, Inc., to review requests for expedited review of denials and make recommendations—subject to CMS’s review—on whether individuals are eligible for health insurance premium assistance under the Recovery Act’s expansion of COBRA continuation coverage. MAXIMUS will also answer questions about the premium assistance program and the expedited review process.
To help displaced workers maintain healthcare coverage for themselves and their families, ARRA provides a 65 percent subsidy for health insurance premiums for workers who have elected COBRA after they have been involuntarily terminated from their jobs. ARRA’s premium assistance applies to periods of continuation coverage beginning on or after February 17, 2009 (when ARRA became law), and lasts for up to nine months.
Read the CMS press release.
