123STA T .46 2 PUBLIC LA W 111 –5—FE B.1 7, 2 0 0 9(A)INGE NE RAL.—SubchapterBof chapter 65 of the I n terna lR e v enue C o d eof 198 6 , a s a m ended b y th i s Act, is amended by addin g at the end the follo w ing new section
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‘ SEC.6432 .C OBRAP RE MIU M ASSIS T A N CE. ‘ ‘(a) IN G ENERAL.— T he person to whom premiums are payable under C O BRA continuation coverage shall be reimbursed as pro - vided in subsection (c) for the amount of premiums not paid by assistance eligible individuals by reason of section 30 0 2 (a) of the H ealth Insurance Assistance for the U nemployed Act of 2009. ‘‘(b) P ER SO N E N TI TLE D TO REI MBU RSEMENT.— F or purposes of subsection (a), e x cept as otherwise provided by the Secretary, the person to whom premiums are payable under COBRA continuation coverage shall be treated as being— ‘‘(1) in the case of any group health plan which is a multi- employer plan (as defined in section 3(3 7 ) of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 197 4 ), the plan, ‘‘(2) in the case of any group health plan not described in paragraph (1)— ‘‘(A) which is sub j ect to the COBRA continuation provi- sions contained in— ‘‘(i) the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, ‘‘(ii) the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, ‘‘(iii) the Public Health Service Act, or ‘‘(iv) title 5, United States Code, or ‘‘(B) under which some or all of the coverage is not provided by insurance, the employer maintaining the plan, and ‘‘(3) in the case of any group health plan not described in paragraph (1) or (2), the insurer providing the coverage under the group health plan. ‘‘(c) M ET H ODO F REIMBURSEMENT.—Except as otherwise pro- vided by the Secretary— ‘‘(1) TREATMENT AS P A Y MENT OF PAYROLL TA X ES.—Each per- son entitled to reimbursement under subsection (a) (and filing a claim for such reimbursement at such time and in such manner as the Secretary may re q uire) shall be treated for purposes of this title and section 1324(b)(2) of title 31, United States Code, as having paid to the Secretary, on the date that the assistance eligible individual ’ s premium payment is received, payroll taxes in an amount equal to the portion of such reimbursement which relates to such premium. To the extent that the amount treated as paid under the preceding sentence exceeds the amount of such person’s liability for such taxes, the Secretary shall credit or refund such excess in the same manner as if it were an overpayment of such taxes. ‘‘(2) O V ERSTATEMENTS.—Any overstatement of the reimbursement to which a person is entitled under this section (and any amount paid by the Secretary as a result of such overstatement) shall be treated as an underpayment of payroll taxes by such person and may be assessed and collected by the Secretary in the same manner as payroll taxes. ‘‘(3) REIMBURSEMENT C ONTINGENT ON PAYMENT OF REMAINING PREMIUM.— N o reimbursement may be made under this section to a person with respect to any assistance eligible individual until after the reduced premium required under 26USC 6 43 2 .
