A colleague in New York would like to know how to handle a case of employment being terminated and the ex-employee inadvertently was not informed of their COBRA rights, but the insurance
was canceled as of the date of termination (3+ months ago).

I would direct the employer to reinstate the insurance back to the date
of cancellation, up to some future date - say, the end of this month .
Then immediately mail the COBRA info stating insurance will be canceled
as of end of the month. Is this the path you would take as well?

(Self-insured plan, employer is in NY state.)


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You are not required to reinstate the coverage, just make sure that the ex-employee has been informed of his/her COBRA rights. Your standard COBRA notification should state that coverage has been terminated and that the insured has 60 days from either the termination of coverage or the receipt of the notification letter, whichever is later, to elect COBRA. This gives the individual the opportunity to elect or decline at least 60 days hence, even though it was an administrative error. I would get that in the mail asap, since the penalties for non-compliance with the notificaton procedure are quite steep.