Sponsors (8)
The bill strengthens enrollment protections and notice clarity so Medicare-eligible COBRA enrollees face fewer coverage gaps and penalties, but it concentrates administrative and financial burdens on employers/insurers and leaves people with earlier or multiple COBRA episodes less protected.
Medicare-eligible people on COBRA (beginning 1/1/2026) can use a new lifetime special enrollment period that covers each month of their COBRA coverage plus three months after, reducing gaps in Medicare Part B enrollment and potential uninsured periods.
COBRA enrollees can avoid Medicare Part B late-enrollment premium penalties for months when they can document COBRA coverage, lowering out-of-pocket costs for affected beneficiaries.
COBRA plans are prohibited from reducing or terminating benefits solely because someone is eligible for but not yet enrolled in Medicare Part B, preserving access to employer/COBRA coverage while people decide about Medicare enrollment.
Extending COBRA enrollment protections and requiring plans to treat enrollees 'as if' they are not Medicare-eligible increases administrative complexity and cost exposure for employers, insurers, and COBRA administrators, which could lead to higher premiums or employer contributions passed to workers and taxpayers.
Limiting the special enrollment period to one lifetime use may leave people who later have additional COBRA episodes without the same protection, increasing risk of coverage gaps for those with multiple job or coverage transitions.
The rule only applies to COBRA coverage that begins on or after Jan 1, 2026, so people with earlier COBRA start dates receive no retroactive benefit, creating unequal treatment by start date.
Based on analysis of 2 sections of legislative text.
Creates a permanent special Medicare Part B enrollment period for people on COBRA continuation coverage that starts Jan 1, 2026. It lets eligible COBRA enrollees sign up for Part B during any month they have COBRA plus the three months after COBRA ends (one-time use only), prevents COBRA plans from cutting or ending COBRA solely because someone is eligible for but not yet enrolled in Part B, and requires updated COBRA notices explaining how Medicare secondary payer rules interact with COBRA.
Introduced April 8, 2025 by Lloyd K. Smucker · Last progress April 8, 2025