Federal law requires the Harrison Trust to offer employees and dependents the opportunity to elect a temporary extension of medical, dental, and vision coverage (called "COBRA Continuation Coverage"). This coverage is offered at group rates in certain instances where coverage under this Plan and any insured plan offered by the Board of Trustees would otherwise end. You do not have to show you are insurable to elect COBRA Continuation Coverage. However, you must pay the total premium and administrative costs for COBRA Continuation Coverage.

1. Termination of your employment.
   
2. Reduction in the hours of your employment.

If you are the spouse of an employee covered by this Plan or an insured plan offered by the Board of Trustees, you have the right to elect COBRA Continuation Coverage for yourself and your dependents if you lose coverage because of any of the following four qualifying events:

1. The death of the employee
   
2. The termination of the employee's employment or reduction in the employee's hours of employment.
   
3. Divorce or legal separation from the employee. Also, if an employee drops his or her spouse from coverage in anticipation of divorce or legal separation, and the divorce or legal separation later occurs, then the later divorce or legal separation will be considered a qualifying event even though the spouse lost coverage earlier. If the former spouse notifies the Plan Administrator within sixty days of the divorce or legal separation and can establish that the coverage was dropped earlier in anticipation of the legal divorce or legal separation, then COBRA Continuation Coverage may be available for the period following the divorce or legal separation.
   
4. The employee enrolls in Medicare Part A or Part B.

If you are a dependent child of an employee covered by this Plan or an insured plan offered by the Board of Trustees, you have the right to elect COBRA Continuation Coverage if you lose coverage because of any of the following five qualifying events:

1. The death of the employee.
   
2. The termination of the employee's employment or reduction in the employee's hours
   of employment.
   
3. Dissolution of the employee's marriage or legal separation.
   
4. The employee enrolls in Medicare Part A or Part B.
   
5. You cease to be a dependent under this Plan or an insured plan offered by the Board of Trustees.

Under COBRA, you, your spouse or your dependents have the responsibility to notify the Plan Administrator of divorce, legal separation, or child losing dependent status. You, your spouse or your dependents must give this notice to the Plan Administrator no later than 60 days after the divorce, legal separation, or child losing dependent status. If you, your spouse or your dependent fails to notify the Plan Administrator during the 60-day notification period, any family member who loses coverage will not be offered the option to elect COBRA Continuation Coverage.

You may be liable for claims if coverage continues beyond the termination date of a divorce, legal separation, or child losing dependent status, because you, your spouse or your dependent has failed to notify the Plan Administrator. Once the Plan Administrator is notified, coverage will end retroactively (as of the day of the divorce or legal separation or the last day of the month in which the child loses dependent status). You, your spouse or dependent must reimburse the Plan for claims paid, if any, after the coverage end date. The same termination and reimbursement requirement will apply if you, your spouse, or your dependent child gives notice of the qualifying event within the 60-day notice period, but then fails to timely elect and pay for COBRA Continuation Coverage.

If the Plan Administrator is notified in a timely manner that one of the above three events (divorce, legal separation or child losing dependent status) has happened, the Plan Administrator will notify the family member of the right to elect COBRA Continuation Coverage. You, your spouse or dependent will also be notified of the right to elect COBRA Continuation Coverage automatically (without any action required by you or a family member) when group health coverage is lost because your employment ends, reduction in your hours, death, or becoming enrolled in Medicare Part A or Part B.

You, your spouse or dependents must elect COBRA Continuation Coverage within 60 days after group health coverage ends or, if later, 60 days after the Plan Administrator sends you or your family member notice of your right to elect COBRA Continuation Coverage. If you, your spouse or your dependents do not elect COBRA Continuation Coverage within the 60-day election period, you will lose your right to elect COBRA Continuation Coverage. The election to accept COBRA Continuation Coverage is effective on the date the election is sent to the Plan Administrator.

1. 36 months. If your spouse or your dependent child loses coverage because of death, divorce, legal separation, your enrollment in Medicare Part A or Part B, or because the dependent child loses his status as a dependent under this Plan or an insured plan offered by the Board of Trustees, the maximum coverage period (for the spouse and dependent child) is three years from the date coverage would otherwise end.

2. 18 months. If you, your spouse, or dependent child loses coverage because the employee's employment ends or reduction in hours, the maximum COBRA Continuation Coverage period (for you, your spouse and dependent child) is 1 months from the date coverage would otherwise end. There are three exceptions:

a. If the employee, spouse, or dependent child is disabled (as that term is defined in the Social Security Act) at any time during the first 60 days of COBRA Continuation Coverage, the COBRA Continuation Coverage period for all qualified beneficiaries is 29 months from the date coverage was lost. The Social Security Administration must formally determine that the disability exists and when it began. For the 29-month COBRA Continuation Coverage period to apply, notice of the determination of disability under the Social Security Act must be provided by the disabled individual to the Plan Administrator within the 18-month coverage period and within 60 days after the date of the determination. If there is a subsequent determination by the Social Security Administration that the qualified beneficiary is no longer disabled, COBRA Continuation Coverage will end.

b. If a second qualifying event gives rise to a thirty-six months COBRA Continuation Coverage period (for example, the employee dies or there is a divorce or legal separation) during the eighteen month or twenty-nine month COBRA Continuation Coverage period, the maximum COBRA Continuation Coverage period becomes three years from the date coverage was initially lost because of termination of employment or reduction in hours.

c. If your spouse or dependent children have COBRA Continuation Coverage because the original qualifying event was your termination of employment or reduction in hours and this qualifying event occurs within eighteen months after you became enrolled in Medicare, your spouse's and dependent children's maximum COBRA Continuation Coverage period ends three years from the date you became enrolled in Medicare.

If, during the COBRA Continuation Coverage, a child is born to you or is placed for adoption with you, the child is considered a qualified beneficiary entitled to COBRA Continuation Coverage. You or your spouse has the right to elect COBRA Continuation Coverage for the child, provided the child satisfies the otherwise applicable eligibility requirements (for example, age). You or your spouse must notify the Plan Administrator of the birth or placement of a child for adoption.

1. The premium for the COBRA Continuation Coverage is not timely paid;
   
2. After the election of COBRA Continuation Coverage, you, your spouse, or dependent child becomes enrolled in Medicare Part A or Part B;
   
3. The Harrison Trust no longer provides group health coverage to any of its participants;
   
4. Your last employer no longer participates in the Harrison Trust and establishes one or more group health plans that cover a significant number of employees who were formerly covered under the Harrison Trust or your last employer begins contributing to another multi-employer plan. In such a case, the new employer plan or multi-employer plan must assume this Plan's COBRA Continuation Coverage obligation.
   
5. After the election of COBRA Continuation Coverage, you, your spouse, or your dependent child becomes covered under another group health plan (as an employee or dependent) that has no exclusion or limitation with respect to any preexisting condition. If the new group health plan has exclusions or limitations for preexisting conditions, your COBRA Continuation Coverage will end after the exclusion or limitation no longer applies. For example: After a six-month waiting period, or under the federal law that requires portability of health care coverage (the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996) the preexisting condition clause expires.

A preexisting exclusion or limitation of another group health plan may not apply to you, or may be satisfied by you, depending on the length of your coverage under this Plan or another group plan.

When you elect COBRA Continuation Coverage, coverage for your spouse and your dependent children will continue automatically unless your spouse independently declines COBRA Continuation Coverage. If you choose not to elect COBRA Continuation Coverage, your spouse and your dependent may still choose COBRA Continuation Coverage. Of course, in all circumstances, anyone electing COBRA Continuation Coverage must pay the required premium.