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Title 42, The Public Health and WelfareRelease 119-110

§300bb–1 State and Local Governmental Group Health Plans Must Provide Continuation Coverage to Certain Individuals

Title 42 › CHAPTER 6A — PUBLIC HEALTH SERVICE › SUBCHAPTER XX — REQUIREMENTS FOR CERTAIN GROUP HEALTH PLANS FOR CERTAIN STATE AND LOCAL EMPLOYEES › § 300bb–1

Last updated Sep 22, 2026|Official source

Summary

State and local government group health plans that get money under this law must let people who would lose their coverage because of certain events choose to keep their coverage. Each eligible person must be allowed to make that choice during the plan’s set election period. The rule does not apply to plans where all employers usually had fewer than 20 employees in the prior calendar year, or to plans run by the government of the District of Columbia or by U.S. territories or their agencies. "Qualified beneficiary" = a person who would lose coverage; "qualifying event" = the reason they lose coverage; "election period" = the time allowed to choose continuation.

Full Legal Text

Title 42, §300bb–1

The Public Health and Welfare, Source: USLM XML via OLRC

(a)In general
In accordance with regulations which the Secretary shall prescribe, each group health plan that is maintained by any State that receives funds under this chapter, by any political subdivision of such a State, or by any agency or instrumentality of such a State or political subdivision, shall provide, in accordance with this subchapter, that each qualified beneficiary who would lose coverage under the plan as a result of a qualifying event is entitled, under the plan, to elect, within the election period, continuation coverage under the plan.
(b)Exception for certain plans
Subsection (a) shall not apply to—
(1)any group health plan for any calendar year if all employers maintaining such plan normally employed fewer than 20 employees on a typical business day during the preceding calendar year, or
(2)any group health plan maintained for employees by the government of the District of Columbia or any territory or possession of the United States or any agency or instrumentality.

Legislative History

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Editorial Notes

Amendments

1989—Subsec. (b). Pub. L. 101–239 struck out at end “Under

Regulations

, rules similar to the rules of subsections (a) and (b) of section 52 of title 26 (relating to employers under common control) shall apply for purposes of paragraph (1).”

Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries

Effective Date

of 1989 Amendment Pub. L. 101–239, title VI, § 6801(a)(2), Dec. 19, 1989, 103 Stat. 2297, provided that: “The amendment made by paragraph (1) [amending this section] shall apply to years beginning after December 31, 1986.”

Effective Date

Pub. L. 99–272, title X, § 10003(b), Apr. 7, 1986, 100 Stat. 236, provided that: “(1) General rule.—The

Amendments

made by this section [enacting this subchapter] shall apply to plan years beginning on or after July 1, 1986. “(2) Special rule for collective bargaining agreements.—In the case of a group health plan maintained pursuant to one or more collective bargaining agreements between employee representatives and one or more employers ratified before the date of the enactment of this Act [Apr. 7, 1986], the

Amendments

made by this section shall not apply to plan years beginning before the later of—“(A) the date on which the last of the collective bargaining agreements relating to the plan terminates (determined without regard to any extension thereof agreed to after the date of the enactment of this Act), or “(B) January 1, 1987. For purposes of subparagraph (A), any plan amendment made pursuant to a collective bargaining agreement relating to the plan which amends the plan solely to conform to any requirement added by this section shall not be treated as a termination of such collective bargaining agreement.”

Reference

Citations & Metadata

Citation

42 U.S.C. § 300bb–1

Title 42, The Public Health and Welfare

Last Updated

Sep 22, 2026

Release point: 119-110