{{Short description|U.S. Law}} {{About|the US medical insurance law||Cobra (disambiguation)}} {{Use American English|date=June 2025}} {{Infobox United States federal proposed legislation | name = Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1985 | fullname = An Act to provide for reconciliation pursuant to section 2 of the first current resolution on the budget for fiscal year 1986 | acronym = COBRA | introduced in the = 99th | number of co-sponsors = | public law url = | cite public law = 99-272 | cite statutes at large = {{USStat|100|82}} | acts affected = Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 | introducedin = House | introducedbill = H.R. 3128 | introduceddate = July 31, 1985 | committees = House Committee on Ways and Means, United States House Committee on Education and Labor, United States House Committee on Energy and Commerce, House Committee on the Judiciary, Senate Committee on Finance | introducedby = Daniel Rostenkowski (D–IL) | passedbody1 = House | passedvote1 = [https://www.govtrack.us/congress/votes/99-1985/h346 238-183] ''with amendment'' | passeddate1 = October 31, 1985 | passedbody2 = Senate | passedvote2 = [https://www.govtrack.us/congress/votes/99-1985/s314 93-6] | passeddate2 = November 14, 1985 | conferencedate = December 19, 1985 | passedbody3 = Senate | passeddate3 = December 19, 1985 | passedvote3 = [https://www.govtrack.us/congress/votes/99-1985/s379 78-1] | passedbody4 = House | passeddate4 = March 20, 1986 | passedvote4 = [https://www.govtrack.us/congress/votes/99-1986/h499 230-154] | signedpresident = Ronald Reagan | signeddate = April 7, 1986 }}
The '''Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1985''' ('''COBRA''') is a law passed by the U.S. Congress on a reconciliation basis and signed by President Ronald Reagan that, among other things, mandates an insurance program which gives some employees the ability to continue health insurance coverage after leaving employment. COBRA includes amendments to the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA). The law deals with a great variety of subjects, such as tobacco price supports, railroads, private pension plans, emergency department treatment, disability insurance, and the postal service, but it is perhaps best known for Title X, which amends the Internal Revenue Code and the Public Health Service Act to deny income tax deductions to employers (generally those with 20 or more full-time equivalent employees) for contributions to a group health plan unless such plan meets certain continuing coverage requirements. The violation for failing to meet those criteria was subsequently changed to an excise tax.
Although this statute became law on April 7, 1986, its official name is the ''Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1985'' ({{USPL|99|272}}, {{USStat|100|82}}). Because of the discrepancy between the official name of the Act and the year in which it was enacted,<ref>Discrepancies between the date in the official title of a U.S. budget Act and the date on which the Act was signed into law occur with some frequency. See, for example, the Deficit Reduction Act of 2005, signed into law in February 2006.</ref> some government publications refer to the Act as the '''Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1986'''.
==Provisions== As originally enacted, Title X of the Act provided that a qualifying employer will not be permitted to take a tax deduction for its health insurance costs unless its health insurance plan allows employees of the employer and the employee's immediate family members who had been covered by a health care plan to maintain their coverage if a "qualifying event" causes them to lose coverage. However, the legislation was subsequently amended to instead impose an excise tax upon an employer whose health plan fails to satisfy the applicable rules. A qualifying employer is generally an employer with 20 or more full-time-equivalent employees.{{efn|ERISA cites "(more) than 20 employees on a typical business day during the preceding calendar year".<ref name="ReferenceA">Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1989</ref> All employees must be counted, even employees who have voluntarily waived group health coverage or who are not eligible for group health coverage due to part-time status. Employees who work less than full-time must be counted as a fraction of a full-time employee based on the employees' work hours.<ref>1987 Final COBRA Regulations</ref>}}
Among the "qualifying events" listed in the statute are loss of benefits coverage due to (1) the death of the covered employee; (2) an employee loses eligibility for coverage due to voluntary or involuntary termination or a reduction in hours as a result of resignation, discharge (except for "gross misconduct"<ref>Zickafoose v. UBServices, Inc., 23 F.Supp.2d 652, 655 (S.D.W.Va.1998). "Conduct is gross misconduct if it is so outrageous that it shocks the conscience."</ref><ref>When an employee is discharged for gross misconduct, the employer is not required to offer COBRA continuation coverage to the employee, the employee's spouse, or the employee's dependents. See [http://caselaw.lp.findlaw.com/scripts/getcase.pl?court=7th&navby=case&no=952645 Mlsna v. Unitel Communications, Inc.] 41 F.3d 1124 (7th Cir. 1994).</ref>), layoff, strike or lockout, medical leave, or slowdown in business operations; (3) divorce or legal separation that terminates the ex-spouse's eligibility for benefits; or (4) a dependent child reaching the age at which he or she is no longer covered.{{efn|Qualified beneficiaries must notify the plan administrator of a divorce, legal separation, or a dependent child ceasing to be a dependent under the terms of the plan within 60 days of the later of either the date of the event or the date coverage would be lost as a result of the event.<ref>Tax Reform Act of 1986.</ref>}} COBRA imposes different notice requirements on participants and beneficiaries, depending on the particular qualifying event that triggers COBRA rights.{{efn|The first day of leave under the Family Medical Leave Act of 1993 (FMLA) is not a qualifying event for COBRA purposes. The qualifying event for COBRA occurs if and when it becomes known that the employee will not be returning from the leave.<ref>Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993.</ref>}} See [https://web.archive.org/web/20120928054223/http://www.dol.gov/ebsa//faqs/faq_compliance_cobra.html DOL.GOV's FAQs For Employers About COBRA Continuation Health Coverage]
COBRA does not apply if coverage is lost because the employer has terminated the plan altogether or because the employer has gone out of business.
COBRA allows for coverage for up to 18 months in most cases. If the individual is deemed disabled by the Social Security Administration, coverage may continue for up to 29 months.{{efn|COBRA coverage must be allowed 29 months of COBRA coverage if the qualifying beneficiary is deemed by the Social Security Administration, under Title II or Title XVI, to have been disabled before the end of the first 60 days of COBRA continuation coverage. In order for these rights to apply, the employer needs to be informed of the Social Security Administration's disability determination before the 18-month period has elapsed and within 60 days of the date it is received by the disabled qualified beneficiary. If one member of a family qualifies for the 29-month period, then the entire family qualifies for the 29-month period.<ref name="ReferenceA" /><ref>Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA)</ref>}} In the case of divorce from the former employee, the former spouse's coverage may continue for up to 36 months. In the case of death of the former employee, the widow's coverage may continue for up to 36 months.{{efn|Another extended coverage period involves Medicare eligibility. If an end of employment occurs less than 18 months after the employee's Medicare entitlement, qualified beneficiaries other than the covered employee must be allowed 36 months of COBRA coverage from the date of the Medicare entitlement. Qualified beneficiaries then have 36 months from the date of Medicare entitlement or 18 months from the end of employment, whichever is longer. A covered employee must be allowed 18 months of COBRA coverage from the end of employment.<ref name="ReferenceA" /><ref>Small Business Job Protection Act of 1996</ref>}}
COBRA does not apply to businesses with fewer than twenty employees, but the majority of states have stepped in with state health insurance continuation laws, sometimes called "mini-COBRA" laws, which apply in these cases.<ref>{{cite web |title=Not Eligible for COBRA for Health Insurance? You Might Still be Eligible for Mini-Cobra Health Insurance Continuation. |url=http://myhealthcafe.com/not-eligible-for-cobra-for-health-insurance-you-might-still-be-eligible-for-mini-cobra-health-insurance-continuatio |website=myhealthcare.com |access-date=1 October 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303194352/http://myhealthcafe.com/not-eligible-for-cobra-for-health-insurance-you-might-still-be-eligible-for-mini-cobra-health-insurance-continuation |archive-date=3 March 2016 |date=March 11, 2010 |url-status=dead}}</ref> Some of these are described below.
COBRA does not, unlike other federal statutes such as the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), require the employer to pay for the cost of providing continuation coverage. Instead it allows employees and their dependents to maintain coverage at their own expense by paying the full cost of the premium the employer and the employee previously paid, plus up to a 2% administrative charge (50% for the latter 11 months under the disability extension).
According to the U.S. Department of Labor:<ref>"Benefits Under Continuation Coverage" section of [http://www.dol.gov/ebsa/pdf/cobraemployee.pdf Department of Labor - Employee brochure] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131227210946/http://www.dol.gov/ebsa/pdf/cobraemployee.pdf |date=2013-12-27 }}</ref> {{Quotation|...the coverage you are given must be identical to the coverage that is currently available under the plan to similarly situated active employees and their families (generally, this is the same coverage that you had immediately before the qualifying event). You will also be entitled, while receiving continuation coverage, to the same benefits, choices, and services that a similarly situated participant or beneficiary is currently receiving under the plan, such as the right during an open enrollment season to choose among available coverage options. You will also be subject to the same rules and limits that would apply to a similarly situated participant or beneficiary, such as co-payment requirements, deductibles, and coverage limits.}}
Employees and dependents can also opt for a lesser form of coverage, e.g., to choose continuation coverage under a plan that only covers the employee, but not his or her dependents, or that only provides medical and hospitalization coverage and does not pay for dental work, if those options are available to covered employees.
Employees and dependents lose coverage if they fail to make timely payments of these premiums. Employers are required to inform employees and dependents upon loss of coverage, in writing, by at least fifteen days before the coverage ceases.
{{Further|Equal Access to COBRA Act}}
==Coordination of coverage== An individual covered under COBRA may also be covered by another group health plan or Medicare<ref>''[http://supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/524/74/case.html Geissal v. Moore Medical Corp.]'' 524 U.S. 74 (1998)</ref> as long as either of two conditions is met:<ref>{{cite web |title=COBRA Coordination with Other Benefits |publisher=Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services |date=6 November 2006 |url=http://www.cms.hhs.gov/COBRAContinuationofCov/12_CoordinationwithOtherBenefits.asp |access-date=8 October 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091130011513/http://www.cms.hhs.gov/COBRAContinuationofCov/12_CoordinationwithOtherBenefits.asp |archive-date=30 November 2009 |url-status=dead }}</ref> * The other coverage was in force as of or prior to the coverage under COBRA. * The other coverage is subject to pre-existing conditions exclusions or limitations. Under COBRA, the following individuals may be eligible for continuation coverage:<ref>{{Cite web |title=Learn about COBRA insurance and how to get coverage |url=https://www.usa.gov/cobra-health-insurance?utm_source=usa_benefits-gov&utm_medium=redirect&utm_campaign=redirect_benefits-gov&modal=b-welcome-1899 |website=Benefits.gov |access-date=2025-04-03 }}</ref>
# '''Employees''': Full-time and part-time employees who were covered by a group health plan sponsored by an employer with 20 or more employees. # '''Spouses''': Spouses of covered employees who were enrolled in the group health plan. # '''Dependent children''': Dependent children of covered employees who were enrolled in the group health plan. # '''Qualified beneficiaries''': Individuals who were covered under the group health plan but lost coverage due to a qualifying event, such as the death of the covered employee, divorce or legal separation, a reduction in work hours, or the employee's eligibility for Medicare.
COBRA coverage is typically temporary and individuals may be required to pay the full premium for the coverage, including the portion previously paid by the employer. The duration of COBRA coverage can vary depending on the specific qualifying event and the state in which the individual resides. Employers that provide COBRA qualified insurance are required to provide information about rights and coverage options to individuals eligible for coverage under the plan.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Continuation of Health Coverage (COBRA) |url=https://www.dol.gov/general/topic/health-plans/cobra |website=DOL |access-date=2023-05-25 }}</ref>
==Subsidy under federal stimulus== Only 10% of Americans eligible for COBRA insurance in 2006 used it, many because they were unable to afford to pay the full premium after their job loss.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=99973267 |title=Bill Aims To Subsidize Health Care For Laid-Off |first=Julie |last=Rovner |date=January 28, 2009 |publisher=NPR |access-date=2009-11-08 }}</ref> While some employers may voluntarily help subsidize or fully cover the cost of COBRA insurance as part of a termination or exit package, it is more common for the ex-employee to cover the entire cost.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://healthharbor.com/cobra-intro/cobra-reducing-costs |title=COBRA - Reducing the Costs |publisher=HealthHarbor |access-date=2009-11-08 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091011000549/http://healthharbor.com/cobra-intro/cobra-reducing-costs |archive-date=2009-10-11 |url-status=dead }}</ref>
The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 as signed by President Barack Obama includes a 65% subsidy to employees for COBRA-enabled insurance for up to 9 months<ref name=DOL>{{cite web |url=http://www.dol.gov/recovery/ |access-date=2009-11-08 |title=DOL Information Related to the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 |publisher=Department of Labor |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091104154900/http://www.dol.gov/recovery/ |archive-date=2009-11-04 |url-status=dead }}</ref> after an involuntary termination (this has since been expanded to 15 months). An employee is eligible for this subsidy if * the termination of employment was involuntary, * the terminated employee has no other group sponsored health insurance option, and * the terminated employee is otherwise eligible to enroll in COBRA.
If the employee has an adjusted gross income in 2009 over $125,000 if filing as single ($250,000 if filing jointly), then the subsidy will be recaptured in a phased manner from the employee through the tax system.
Termination of employment must have occurred between September 1, 2008 and December 31, 2009 (later expanded to February 28, 2010, expanded again to March 31, 2010, and then expanded again to June 2, 2010). Specific provisions and responsibilities may differ in the state specific mini-COBRA plans for employers with fewer than 20 employees throughout half of the previous calendar year. Those employees who are eligible for the ultimate benefits of this subsidy are referred to as Assistance Eligible Individuals (or AEIs).
Employers subject to Federal COBRA are required to:<ref name="DOL" /> * Notify terminated employees of their potential rights under ARRA by sending a series of notices * Provide a method for qualified AEIs to enroll * Pay the full amount of the premiums and seek reimbursement of the 65% subsidy by including it in the Employer's Quarterly Federal Tax Return (Form 941)
This Act was signed into law by President Barack Obama on February 17, 2009.
On December 19, 2009, President Obama signed into law the Department of Defense Appropriations Act, 2010, which made several amendments to the COBRA provisions of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA). The Act extends COBRA subsidy eligibility to employees who lost their jobs due to no fault of their own between January 1 and February 28, 2010. The nine-month subsidy period was also expanded to fifteen months.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.dol.gov/ebsa/faqs/faq-cobra-premiumreductionEE.html |work=Department of Labor |title=FAQs On The COBRA Premium Reduction Extension Provisions |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100505174042/http://www.dol.gov/ebsa/faqs/faq-cobra-premiumreductionEE.html |archive-date=2010-05-05 }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Block |first=Sandra |date=January 5, 2010 |title=Another COBRA extension helps with health insurance |work=USA Today |url=https://www.usatoday.com/money/perfi/columnist/block/2010-01-04-cobra-extension-health-insurance_N.htm }}</ref>
On March 3, 2010, President Obama signed into law the Temporary Extension Act of 2010.<ref>{{cite web |title=H.R. 4691: Temporary Extension Act of 2010 |work=GovTrack.us |publisher=Civic Impulse, LLC. |url=http://www.govtrack.us/congress/bill.xpd?bill=h111-4691 }}</ref> The Act extends COBRA subsidy eligibility to employees who lost their jobs due to no fault of their own between March 1 and 31, 2010.<ref>{{cite news |last=Pender |first=Kathleen |date=March 3, 2010 |title=Federal unemployment benefits, Cobra subsidy extended for one month |work=San Francisco Chronicle |url=http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/blogs/pender/detail?entry_id=58343&tsp=1 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110916220949/http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/blogs/pender/detail?entry_id=58343&tsp=1 |url-status=dead |archive-date=September 16, 2011 }}</ref> In addition, employees who lost group health insurance due to reduced work hours on or after Sept. 1, 2008, followed by involuntary termination between March 2 and March 31, 2010, will now be eligible for the COBRA subsidy.<ref>{{cite news |last=Geisel |first=Jerry |date=March 3, 2010 |title=Obama signs stopgap COBRA subsidy extension |url=http://www.businessinsurance.com/article/20100303/NEWS/100309976 |work=Business Insurance |publisher=Crain Communications }}</ref>
The Continuing Extension Act of 2010 extends premium assistance for COBRA benefits through May 31, 2010.<ref>{{cite news |title=H.R.4851 – Continuing Extension Act of 2010 |date=May 20, 2010 |url=http://www.opencongress.org/bill/111-h4851/show }}</ref>
{{As of|2010|06|post=,}} an extension of COBRA's premium assistance has not materialized, and attempts by congressional members to include such provisions have been dropped. As of June 1, 2010, all newly unemployed workers must pay full coverage costs as determined by their respective plans.<ref name="Yahoo2010">{{cite news|title=Obama faces rare defeat on health help for jobless |first=Ricardo |last=Alonso-Zaldivar |url=https://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100612/ap_on_bi_ge/us_health_care_unemployed |agency=Associated Press |publisher=Yahoo News |date=June 12, 2010 |access-date=June 12, 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100615170831/http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100612/ap_on_bi_ge/us_health_care_unemployed |archive-date=June 15, 2010 }}</ref> This is due in part to conservative Democrats in Congress who have expressed concerns about treating some unemployed workers differently from others, such as people priced out of the private insurance market.<ref name="Yahoo2010" /> A number of Senate Democrats expressed concern about this situation and have introduced legislation to expand COBRA coverage to people who become unemployed through November 2010.<ref name="Yahoo2010" />
The American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 included a provision to fully cover COBRA premiums from April through September 2021.<ref>{{cite web |last=Nova |first=Annie |title=Government will Fully Cover Laid-Off Workers' COBRA Premiums through September |url=https://www.cnbc.com/2021/03/11/the-government-will-fully-cover-laid-off-workers-cobra-premiums-.html |website=CNBC |access-date=12 March 2021 }}</ref>
==Similar state and local legislation== Forty-one states have legislation similar to federal COBRA requiring employers to allow employees and their dependents to continue their group health insurance coverage following certain qualifying events.<ref>{{cite news |title=State Continuation Coverage |work=American Diabetes Association |access-date=June 27, 2012 |url=http://www.diabetes.org/living-with-diabetes/treatment-and-care/health-insurance-options/health-insurance-options-for-the-unemployed/state-continuation-coverage.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120813042815/http://www.diabetes.org/living-with-diabetes/treatment-and-care/health-insurance-options/health-insurance-options-for-the-unemployed/state-continuation-coverage.html |archive-date=August 13, 2012 |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=State Continuation Coverage |access-date=2021-07-30 |work=Healthcare.gov |publisher=U.S. Department of Health & Human Services |url=https://www.healthcare.gov/glossary/state-continuation-coverage/ }}</ref> The District of Columbia also has laws covering COBRA.
===California=== California's legislation applies to non-government employers with a group health insurance plan with fewer than twenty employees.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Health and Safety Code, Section 1366.20-1366.29 |url=https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displayText.xhtml?lawCode=HSC&division=2.&title=&part=&chapter=2.2.&article=4.5 |access-date=2018-01-04 }}</ref>
===District of Columbia=== The District of Columbia's Continuation of Health Coverage Act of 2001 applies to employers with a group health insurance plan with a situs in the District of Columbia and with fewer than twenty employees. Coverage must be offered to be extended for a period of three months following the date that coverage would have ended.<ref>{{cite web |title=Bulletin No. 01-LG-004-12/18 |work=Department of Insurance, Securities and Banking |publisher=Government of the District of Columbia |date=December 18, 2011 |access-date=June 27, 2012 |url=http://disr.dc.gov/disr/cwp/view,a,1300,q,577573,disrNav_GID,1629,disrNav,%7C32821%7C.asp |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070219185027/http://disr.dc.gov/disr/cwp/view,a,1300,q,577573,disrNav_GID,1629,disrNav,%7C32821%7C.asp |archive-date=February 19, 2007 |url-status=dead }}</ref>
===Maryland=== Maryland's legislation only applies to employers with a group health insurance plan with a situs in Maryland and with fewer than twenty employees that continuation coverage must be offered to an employee who lives in Maryland, who had coverage from the employer for at least three months, and who either resigns or loses employment due to no fault of their own. Continuation coverage must also be offered to the former spouse and dependent children of an employee after a divorce. One exception to the eighteen-month rule is that coverage may end for the former spouse upon the former spouse's remarriage. Continuation coverage must also be offered to the surviving spouse and dependent children of an employee who dies. The employee must have resided in Maryland and had coverage with the employer for at least three months prior to death. In all cases, continuation coverage must be offered for eighteen months, with the exception that a former spouse's continuation coverage ends upon remarriage.<ref>{{cite web |title=Bulletin 08-13 |date=May 30, 2008 |work=Insurance Administration |publisher=State of Maryland |access-date=June 27, 2012 |url=http://www.mdinsurance.state.md.us/sa/docs/documents/insurer/bulletins/bulletinlh08-13continuationcoverage.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110901140633/http://www.mdinsurance.state.md.us/sa/docs/documents/insurer/bulletins/bulletinlh08-13continuationcoverage.pdf |archive-date=September 1, 2011 |url-status=dead }}</ref>
===Virginia=== Virginia's legislation applies to employers with a group health insurance plan, other than an HMO plan, and with twenty or fewer employees.<ref name= cf>{{cite web |title=Virginia House Bill 315 Extends State Continuation Coverage to 12 Months |url=http://www.mtda.com/bu/cf00793.pdf |publisher=CareFirst BlueChoice |date=June 25, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150610204945/http://www.mtda.com/bu/cf00793.pdf |archive-date=June 10, 2015 }}</ref> Employers must offer continuation coverage to employees for twelve months.<ref name= cf/><ref>"[https://law.lis.virginia.gov/vacode/title38.2/chapter35/section38.2-3541/ § 38.2-3541. Continuation on termination of eligibility]". ''LIS Learning Center''. Virginia Law Library. Government of the Commonwealth of Virginia. Retrieved April 21, 2025.</ref> The legislation does not apply to employees who did not have coverage from the employer for at least three months prior to the qualifying event.<ref>{{cite web |title=Virginia Acts of Assembly: 2010 Session: Chapter 503 |format=pdf |work=Legislative Information System, Division of Legislative Automated Systems |publisher=State of Virginia |access-date=June 27, 2012 |url=http://lis.virginia.gov/cgi-bin/legp604.exe?101+ful+CHAP0503+pdf }}</ref>
==Notes== {{Notelist|30em}}
==See also== {{Portal|Law|United States}} * Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA)
{{Clear}}
==References== {{Reflist}}
==External links== {{Wikisource}} * [https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/COMPS-10502/uslm/COMPS-10502.xml Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1985] as amended ([https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/COMPS-10502/pdf/COMPS-10502.pdf PDF]/[https://www.govinfo.gov/app/details/COMPS-10502 details]) in the GPO [https://www.govinfo.gov/help/comps Statute Compilations collection] * [https://www.govinfo.gov/link/statute/99/public/272?link-type=pdf&.pdf Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1985] as enacted ([https://www.govinfo.gov/link/statute/99/public/272?link-type=details details]) in the US Statutes at Large * {{USBill|99|hr|3128}} on Congress.gov * [https://www.dol.gov/general/topic/health-plans/cobra Other Resources], Department of Labor * [http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/z?d099:HR03128:@@@D&summ2=m&|TOM:/bss/d099query.html Library of Congress THOMAS summary of the Act.] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160107035213/http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/z?d099%3AHR03128%3A%40%40%40D&summ2=m&%7CTOM%3A%2Fbss%2Fd099query.html |date=2016-01-07 }} * [https://www.investopedia.com/articles/insurance/11/intro-cobra-health-insurance.asp All About COBRA Health Insurance] (Investopedia)
{{Presidency of Ronald Reagan}} {{US tax acts}} {{Authority control}}
Category:1986 in American law Category:99th United States Congress Category:Presidency of Ronald Reagan Category:United States federal taxation legislation 1985 Category:United States federal health legislation