QUESTION: We received notice from an employee that his son turned age 26 and is no longer an eligible dependent under our company’s group health plan. According to our insurer, however, the son is not covered under the plan because his coverage was previously dropped during open enrollment. Do we still need to send a notice of unavailability informing the employee’s son that he is not entitled to elect COBRA?

ANSWER: Yes. The DOL’s COBRA regulations require a plan administrator to provide a notice of unavailability to certain individuals who may expect to receive COBRA coverage (or an extension of COBRA coverage). The notice is required for any covered employee, qualified beneficiary, or “other individual” for whom the administrator has received any of the following notices and has determined that COBRA coverage (or an extension of COBRA coverage) is not available: (1) notice that a qualifying event has occurred; (2) notice that a second qualifying event has occurred; or (3) notice that a qualified beneficiary has been determined by the Social Security Administration to be disabled.

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