Five group health plan clocks can pause after a declared disaster.
COBRA elections, special enrollment, claims, appeals and external review are the deadlines the joint notice from the Department of Labor, Treasury and the IRS reaches. This page covers each one and the ordinary rule behind it.
Where This Page Fits.
General information, not legal advice. Each claim on this page is tied to the statute, rule or agency notice cited in the Laws And Sources section.
EBSA Disaster Relief For Group Health Plans
The overview: what disaster relief is, how a notice is built and what Michigan employers do before one is issued.
How EBSA Disaster Relief Gets Triggered
From a federal declaration to a published notice with an incident period and an end date, and why to watch each one.
Documenting And Restarting Deadlines After A Disaster
What to record, how to restart ordinary clocks and how contribution deposits fit.
The Deadlines That Can Move.
EBSA Disaster Relief Notice 2024-01 states that the joint notice from the Department of Labor, the Treasury Department and the IRS extends group health plan deadlines for COBRA continuation coverage, special enrollment periods, claims for benefits, appeals of denied claims and external review. It also covers the time to provide COBRA election notices. The same notice carries the extension of claims and appeals timeframes for disability, retirement and other plans.
The notice does not state how long each extension runs. It points to the joint notice for that, and we have not confirmed lengths for any current event, so we do not give any here. When a notice is issued, read the joint notice itself for the number of days.
Two statutes sit behind the relief. ERISA section 518, 29 U.S.C. 1148, lets the Secretary of Labor disregard a period of up to one year for Title I deadlines. Code section 7508A, 26 U.S.C. 7508A, lets Treasury postpone tax-code deadlines, including those for plans. The joint notice relies on both.
The Ordinary Clocks.
You cannot tell whether a deadline moved unless you know what it normally is. The COBRA election period must last at least 60 days, 29 U.S.C. 1165. An employer has 30 days after a qualifying event to tell the plan administrator, and the administrator then has 14 days to notify qualified beneficiaries, 29 U.S.C. 1166. A plan must allow at least 30 days after a special enrollment event to request enrollment, 29 CFR 2590.701-6. A group health plan must give claimants at least 180 days to appeal a denial, 29 CFR 2560.503-1.
These are the floors, and your plan document or carrier contract may be more generous. Relief changes how the clock is counted for people affected by the disaster. It does not rewrite the rule underneath.
People, Plans And Vendors.
Relief follows location. In Notice 2024-01 it reached plans, sponsors, fiduciaries, participants, beneficiaries and service providers located in an area FEMA identified for individual assistance. For an employer, three groups can matter at once: employees who live in the area, your own office, and the vendors that run COBRA, claims or enrollment for you.
A vendor’s location can matter even when your office is untouched, so ask each vendor how it will apply a notice before you need it. A notice for another state is not relief for a Michigan plan unless the person, plan or provider is located in the area the notice covers.
Common Misreadings.
Assuming the extension is automatic for everyone. It reaches people and plans in the covered area, during the incident period, up to the end date.
Quoting a number of days from memory. Lengths come from the joint notice for the specific event.
Forgetting the participant. Someone who misses a COBRA or appeal deadline because of a disaster is protected only if the plan applies the extension, so tell people in writing what their deadline is.
Related Rules And Tools.
COBRA Notice Deadlines For Employers
Who must send which COBRA notice, and by when.
Special Enrollment Deadline Calculator
Work out the special enrollment window for a qualifying event.
ERISA Claims Procedure And Appeals
How plan claims and appeals are decided, and the timelines involved.
A Compliance Calendar For Your Plan Year
A plan-year view of the dates that matter.
Laws And Sources
EBSA Disaster Relief Notice 2024-01: The worked example: Hurricanes Helene and Milton, the covered areas, incident periods, the May 1, 2025 end date and the conditions attached.
EBSA Disaster Relief Page: The Department of Labor list of current disaster relief notices. Check it for any Michigan declaration.
ERISA Section 518, 29 U.S.C. 1148: The statute that lets the Secretary of Labor disregard a period of up to one year for plans affected by a declared disaster.
Code Section 7508A, 26 U.S.C. 7508A: The Treasury authority to postpone tax-code deadlines, including plan deadlines, after a declared disaster.
ERISA Section 605, 29 U.S.C. 1165: The COBRA election period: at least 60 days.
ERISA Section 606, 29 U.S.C. 1166: The COBRA notice rules: employer to administrator within 30 days, administrator to qualified beneficiaries within 14 days.
29 CFR 2590.701-6: Special enrollment rights, with at least 30 days to request enrollment.
29 CFR 2560.503-1: The claims procedure rule, including at least 180 days to appeal a group health denial.
Quick Answers.
Which group health plan deadlines can be extended after a disaster?
Under Notice 2024-01, the joint notice covered COBRA continuation coverage, special enrollment periods, claims for benefits, appeals of denied claims and external review, plus the time to give COBRA election notices.
How long is the extension for COBRA and special enrollment?
The length is set in the joint notice from the Department of Labor, Treasury and the IRS for the event. Notice 2024-01 does not restate it, so read the joint notice for the number of days.
Do these extensions apply to every Michigan employer?
No. Relief reaches plans, participants and service providers located in the areas a notice covers. We have not confirmed a current Michigan declaration, so check the EBSA disaster relief page.
The Rest Of This Series.
ERISA Section 518 Relief For Plan Notices
How late notices and disclosures are excused when you act in good faith and deliver as soon as administratively practicable.
Electronic Delivery During A Disaster
When email, text messages and a website count as a good-faith way to reach participants, and how the safe harbor still works.
Form M-1 And Form 5500 Disaster Relief
How MEWA reports and annual returns follow IRS relief, and who counts as directly affected.
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