Continuing COBRA Coverage

This section explains COBRA continuation coverage, when it may become available to you and your family, and what you need to do to protect your right to get it. When you become eligible for COBRA, you may also become eligible for other coverage options that may cost less than COBRA continuation coverage.

The right to COBRA continuation coverage was created by a federal law, the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1985 (COBRA).  COBRA continuation coverage can become available to you and other members of your family when group health coverage would otherwise end. For more information about your rights and obligations under the Dental Health Plan and under federal law, you should review this handbook or contact the Plan Administrator.

You may have other options available to you when you lose group health coverage. For example, you may be eligible to buy an individual plan through the Health Insurance Marketplace. By enrolling in coverage through the Marketplace, you may qualify for lower costs on your monthly premiums and lower out-of-pocket costs. Additionally, you may qualify for a 30-day special enrollment period for another group health plan for which you are eligible (such as a spouse’s plan), even if that plan generally doesn’t accept late enrollees.

COBRA continuation coverage is a continuation of Plan coverage when it would otherwise end because of a life event. This is also called a “qualifying event.” Specific COBRA  qualifying events are listed later in this section. After a qualifying event, COBRA continuation coverage must be offered to each person who is a “qualified beneficiary.”  You, your spouse, and your dependent children could become qualified beneficiaries if coverage under the Dental Health Plan is lost because of the qualifying event. Under the Plan, qualified beneficiaries who elect COBRA continuation coverage must pay for COBRA continuation coverage.

If you are an employee of the Plan Sponsor (Boston University) cov­ered by one of the dental health plan options maintained by the University, you will become a qualified beneficiary if you lose your group dental health cover­age because either one of the fol­lowing qualifying events happens:

  • Your hours of employment are reduced, or
  • Your employment ends for any reason other than your gross misconduct.

If you are the spouse of an employee covered by the Dental Health Plan, you will become a qualified beneficiary if you lose your coverage under the Dental Health Plan because any one of the follow­ing qualifying events happens:

  • Your spouse dies;
  • Your spouse’s employment ends for any reason other than his or her gross misconduct;
  • Your spouse’s hours of employment are reduced;
  • You become divorced or legally separated from your spouse; or
  • Your spouse becomes entitled to Medicare (under Part A, Part B, or both).

Your dependent children will become qualified beneficiaries if they lose coverage under the Dental Health Plan because any one of the follow­ing qualifying events happens:

  • The parent-employee dies;
  • The parent-employee’s hours of employment are reduced;
  • The parent-employee’s employ­ment ends for any reason other than his or her gross misconduct;
  • The parents become divorced or legally separated;
  • The parent-employee becomes entitled to Medicare benefits (Part A, Part B, or both); or
  • The child ceases to be eligible for coverage under the Plan as a “dependent child.”

When Is COBRA Coverage Available?

The Dental Health Plan will offer COBRA continuation coverage to quali­fied beneficiaries only after the Plan Administrator has been noti­fied that a qualifying event has occurred. When the qualifying event is the end of employment or reduction of hours of employ­ment, death of the employee, or the employee’s becoming entitled to Medicare benefits (under Part A, Part B, or both), the University must notify the Plan Administrator of the qualifying event.

For all other qualifying events (divorce or legal separation of the employee and spouse or a dependent child’s losing eligibility for coverage as a dependent child), you must notify the Plan Administrator within 60 days after the qualifying event occurs. You must provide this notice to the COBRA Administrator:

P&A Group
Dept. #652
P.O. Box 8000
Buffalo, NY 14267-8000
1-800-688-2611

    You must provide notice of the event, along with documentation substantiating the divorce, legal separation, or loss of dependent status and the effective date of such event.

    The 60-day deadline to provide notice of a qualifying event will be tolled for up to one year during the COVID-19 pandemic.  The tolling period will end on the earlier of:

    • one year from the date the 60-day deadline would have begun running, or
    • 60 days after the announced end of the National Emergency Concerning the Novel Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) Outbreak.

    How is COBRA Coverage Provided?

    Once the Plan Administrator receives notice that a qualifying event has occurred, COBRA continuation coverage will be offered to each of the qualified benefi­ciaries. Each qualified beneficiary will have an independent right to elect COBRA continuation coverage. Covered employees may elect COBRA continuation coverage on behalf of their spouses, and parents may elect COBRA continuation cov­erage on behalf of their children.

    COBRA continuation coverage is a temporary continuation of coverage that generally lasts for 18 months due to employment termination or reduction of hours of work. Certain qualifying events, or a second qualifying event during the initial period of coverage, may permit a beneficiary to receive a maximum of 36 months of coverage.

    If You Have Questions

    More complete information regarding your COBRA continuation coverage rights is available from the Plan Administrator. For more information about your rights under ERISA, including COBRA, the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), and other laws affecting group dental health plans, contact the nearest Regional or District Office of the U.S. Department of Labor’s Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) in your area or visit the EBSA website. (Addresses and phone numbers of Regional and District EBSA Offices are available through EBSA’s website.)

    Keep Your Plan Informed of Address Changes

    In order to protect your family’s rights, you should keep Human Resources informed of any changes in the addresses of family members. You should also keep a copy, for your records, of any notices you send to the Plan Administrator.

    Plan Contact Information

    Human Resources
    Boston University
    25 Buick St, 2nd Fl
    Boston, MA  02215
    617-353-2380