Notice Requirements of the Health Care Continuation Coverage Provisions

Forms and Documents

Document Name	Status
1210-0123 Supporting Statement (09-22-2016).doc Supporting Statement A	2016-09-22

IC Document Collections

IC ID	Document Title	Status
13504	Notice Requirements of the Health Care Continuation Coverage Provisions Other-COBRA Model General Notice	Modified

ICR Details

OMB Control No: 1210-0123	ICR Reference No: 201609-1210-001
Status: Historical Active	Previous ICR Reference No: 201406-1210-001
Agency/Subagency: DOL/EBSA	Agency Tracking No:
Title: Notice Requirements of the Health Care Continuation Coverage Provisions
Type of Information Collection: Extension without change of a currently approved collection	Common Form ICR:  No
Type of Review Request: Regular
OIRA Conclusion Action: Approved without change	Conclusion Date: 12/20/2016
	Date Received in OIRA: 10/07/2016
Terms of Clearance:

	Inventory as of this Action	Requested	Previously Approved
Expiration Date	12/31/2019	36 Months From Approved	12/31/2016
Responses	16,052,495	0	20,712,556
Time Burden (Hours)	0	0	0
Cost Burden (Dollars)	30,490,898	0	26,554,404

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Abstract: The Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1985 (COBRA) provides that under certain circumstances participants and beneficiaries of group health plans that satisfy the definition of “qualified beneficiaries” under COBRA may elect to continue group health coverage temporarily following events known as “qualifying events” that would otherwise result in loss of coverage. COBRA provides that the Secretary of Labor (the Secretary) has the authority under section 608 of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) to carry out the provisions of Part 6 of title I of ERISA. The Conference Report that accompanied COBRA authorized the Secretary to issue regulations implementing the notice and disclosure requirements of COBRA. Under the regulatory guidelines, plan administrators are required to distribute notices as follows: a general notice to be distributed to all participants in group health plans subject to COBRA; an employer notice that must be completed by the employer upon the occurrence of a qualifying event; a notice and election form to be sent to a participant upon the occurrence of a qualifying event that might cause the participant to lose group health coverage; an employee notice that may be completed by a qualified beneficiary upon the occurrence of certain qualifying events such as divorce or disability; and, two other notices, one of early termination and the other a notice of unavailability. Also included in the ICR are two model notices that the Department believes will help reduce costs for service providers in preparing and delivering notices to comply with the regulations.

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Authorizing Statute(s): US Code: 29 USC 1166 Name of Law: Employee Retirement Income Security Act
   US Code: 29 USC 1168 Name of Law: Employee Retirement Income Security Act
  

Citations for New Statutory Requirements: None

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Associated Rulemaking Information
RIN:	Stage of Rulemaking:	Federal Register Citation:	Date:
	Not associated with rulemaking

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Federal Register Notices & Comments
60-day Notice:	Federal Register Citation:	Citation Date:
	81 FR 33550	05/26/2016
30-day Notice:	Federal Register Citation:	Citation Date:
	81 FR 69858	10/07/2016
Did the Agency receive public comments on this ICR? No

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Number of Information Collection (IC) in this ICR: 1

IC Title	Form No.	Form Name
Notice Requirements of the Health Care Continuation Coverage Provisions

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ICR Summary of Burden

	Total Approved	Previously Approved	Change Due to New Statute	Change Due to Agency Discretion	Change Due to Adjustment in Estimate	Change Due to Potential Violation of the PRA
Annual Number of Responses	16,052,495	20,712,556	0	0	-4,660,061	0
Annual Time Burden (Hours)	0	0	0	0	0	0
Annual Cost Burden (Dollars)	30,490,898	26,554,404	0	0	3,936,494	0

Burden increases because of Program Change due to Agency Discretion: No

Burden Increase Due to:

Burden decreases because of Program Change due to Agency Discretion: No

Burden Reduction Due to:

Short Statement:

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Annual Cost to Federal Government: $0

Does this IC contain surveys, censuses, or employ statistical methods? No

Is the Supporting Statement intended to be a Privacy Impact Assessment required by the E-Government Act of 2002? No

Is this ICR related to the Affordable Care Act [Pub. L. 111-148 & 111-152]? Yes

Is this ICR related to the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, [Pub. L. 111-203]? No

Is this ICR related to the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA)? No

Is this ICR related to the Pandemic Response? Uncollected

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Common Form ICR:  No

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On behalf of this Federal agency, I certify that the collection of information encompassed by this request complies with 5 CFR 1320.9 and the related provisions of 5 CFR 1320.8(b)(3).

The following is a summary of the topics, regarding the proposed collection of information, that the certification covers:

(a) It is necessary for the proper performance of agency functions;

(b) It avoids unnecessary duplication;

(c) It reduces burden on small entities;

(d) It uses plain, coherent, and unambiguous language that is understandable to respondents;

(e) Its implementation will be consistent and compatible with current reporting and recordkeeping practices;

(f) It indicates the retention periods for recordkeeping requirements;

(g) It informs respondents of the information called for under 5 CFR 1320.8 (b)(3) about:

(i) Why the information is being collected;

(ii) Use of information;

(iii) Burden estimate;

(iv) Nature of response (voluntary, required for a benefit, or mandatory);

(v) Nature and extent of confidentiality; and

(vi) Need to display currently valid OMB control number;

(h) It was developed by an office that has planned and allocated resources for the efficient and effective management and use of the information to be collected.

(i) It uses effective and efficient statistical survey methodology (if applicable); and

(j) It makes appropriate use of information technology.

If you are unable to certify compliance with any of these provisions, identify the item by leaving the box unchecked and explain the reason in the Supporting Statement.

Certification Date: 10/07/2016

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