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Qualifying Events for COBRA Continuation CoverageThe COBRA legislation passed by the 99th Congress provides that when employees and covered dependents lose their eligibility for group medical insurance coverage because of any of the events listed below, they may elect to continue group medical plan participation. The continued coverage can remain in effect for a maximum period of either 18, 29, or 36 months depending on the reason the coverage was terminated.Qualifying Events for 18-Month Continuation Qualifying Events for 29-Month Continuation Qualifying Events for 36-Month Continuation%u2022 loss of eligibility due to reduction of employee work hours%u2022 voluntary employee termination including retirement (early or disability)%u2022 employee layoff for economic reasons%u2022 employee discharge, except for gross misconduct%u2022 failure of a participating employer to pay all premiums for at least 90 days%u2022 loss of coverage by an employee or dependent if determined by the Social Security Administration to be disabled at any time during the first 60 days after the initial COBRA qualifying event dateTo receive the additional 11 months of COBRA continuation coverage, the plan%u2019s COBRA administrator must receive a copy of the SSA%u2019s determination letter before the end of the 18-month period of COBRA continuation.%u2022 death of an employee%u2022 divorce or legal separation of an employee, so long as the spouse was previously enrolled as a covered participant%u2022 employee becomes eligible for Medicare, leaving dependents without group medical coverage (as in the case of an employee who reaches 65, retires and begins Medicare coverage)%u2022 children who lose coverage due to plan provisions (for example, reaching the maximum age of 26)Note: Non-payment of premiums is not a qualifying event for COBRA continuation coverage.EligibilityEmployees and dependents covered by TRS-ActiveCare on the day before the qualifying event are eligible to continue coverage. Employees or dependents not previously enrolled cannot elect to begin coverage.Note: Employees may not make plan changes during a plan year unless there is a special enrollment event, even if changing from active to COBRA status.www.bcbstx.com/trsactivecareba 49