A covered employee is laid off and elects COBRA continuation coverage. For how long is the employee entitled to continue group health coverage under federal COBRA rules?

Why this is the answer

Federal COBRA (IRC §4980B; ERISA §601-608) provides two primary continuation periods based on the qualifying event. Involuntary or voluntary termination (except gross misconduct) and reduction in hours both trigger a maximum of 18 months. A 29-month extension is available if SSA determines that a qualified beneficiary was disabled at any time during the first 60 days of continuation coverage, and it applies to every qualified beneficiary in the family. Qualifying events that trigger 36 months include: the covered employee's death, divorce or legal separation, the employee becoming entitled to Medicare, and a dependent child ceasing to be a dependent under plan rules. Option B incorrectly assigns 36 months to job loss. The 29-month figure belongs to the disability extension, which does not apply here because no disability is mentioned.