Federal Agencies Announce Benefit Plan Relief for Hurricane Victims

The Department of Labor, Treasury Department, IRS, and Employee Benefits Security Administration (“Departments”) recently announced benefit plan relief for individuals affected by Hurricane Helene and Hurricane Milton.

The relief primarily impacts special enrollment periods, benefit claims and appeals, and COBRA timelines. Any individual that resides in Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Virginia now have extensions on the following deadlines:

• The 30-day (or 60-day, if applicable) period to request special enrollment
• The 60-day election period for COBRA continuation coverage
• The date to make COBRA premium payments
• The date to notify the plan of a qualifying event or determination of disability
• The date to file a benefit claim under the plan’s claims procedure
• The date to file an appeal of an adverse benefit determination
• The date to request an external review after an adverse benefit determination

These extensions are valid from September 23, 2024, through May 1, 2025. This means plan sponsors will begin counting the normal applicable deadlines on May 1, 2025.

The Departments provide the following as an example:

“An employee resides in Columbia, South Carolina. They are eligible for, but previously declined participation in, her employer-sponsored group health plan. On October 31, 2024, the employee gives birth and would like to enroll herself and the child into her employer's plan; however, open enrollment does not begin until November 15, for coverage that begins January 1. When may Individual B exercise her special enrollment rights?

The Relief Period is disregarded for purposes of determining Individual B's and her child's special enrollment period. Individual B and her child qualify for special enrollment into her employer's plan for coverage that begins on the date of the child's birth, to the extent she satisfies all of the plan's conditions for special enrollment that the plan may apply under Federal law. Individual B may exercise her special enrollment rights for herself and her child until 30 days after May 1, 2025, which is May 31, 2025, provided that she pays her share of the premiums for any period of coverage.”

These extensions provide welcome relief to individuals impacted by the recent extreme weather events. If you have employees in these states and have questions about how this relief applies to your benefit plan, contact your OneDigital consultant.

For additional information on this topic, view the following post containing An Overview of Financial Relief Measures for Helene and Milton Victims.