Page:United States Statutes at Large Volume 123.djvu/478

 123STA T .458PUBLIC LA W 111 – 5 —FE B.1 7, 2 0 0 9(i)shal l com m en ce w i t h the f i r st p erio d of co v era g e b eginning on or after the date of the enactment of this A ct , and (ii) shall not e x tend be y ond the period of COBR A contin u ation coverage that would have been re q uired under the applicable COBRA continuation coverage provision if the coverage had been elected as required under such provision . (C) PRE E XIST I NGCO N D ITIONS. —W ith respect to a quali - fied beneficiary who elects COBRA continuation coverage pursuant to subparagraph (A), the period— (i) beginning on the date of the qualifying event, and (ii) ending with the beginning of the period described in subparagraph (B)(i), shall be disregarded for purposes of determining the 63 - day periods referred to in section 701 (c)( 2 ) of the E mployee Retirement I ncome S ecurity Act of 1 9 7 4, section 9 8 01(c)(2) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, and section 2701(c)(2) of the Public H ealth Service Act. ( 5 )EX P EDITED RE V IE W O F DENI AL SOFPRE M I U M ASSIST- ANCE.—In any case in which an individual requests treatment as an assistance eligible individual and is denied such treat- ment by the group health plan, the Secretary of L abor (or the Secretary of Health and Human Services in connection with COBRA continuation coverage which is provided other than pursuant to part 6 of subtitle B of title I of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974), in consultation with the Secretary of the T reasury, shall provide for expedited review of such denial. An individual shall be entitled to such review upon application to such Secretary in such form and manner as shall be provided by such Secretary. Such Secretary shall ma k e a determination regarding such individual ’ s eligibility within 15 business days after receipt of such individual’s application for review under this paragraph. Either Secretary’s determination upon review of the denial shall be de novo and shall be the final determination of such Secretary. A reviewing court shall grant deference to such Secretary’s determination. The provisions of this paragraph, paragraphs (1) through (4), and paragraph (7) shall be treated as provisions of title I of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 for purposes of part 5 of subtitle B of such title. (6) D ISREGARD OF SU B SIDIES FOR PURPOSES OF FEDERAL AND STATE PROGRAMS.— N otwithstanding any other provision of law, any premium reduction with respect to an assistance eligible individual under this subsection shall not be considered income or resources in determining eligibility for, or the amount of assistance or benefits provided under, any other public ben- efit provided under F ederal law or the law of any State or political subdivision thereof. (7) NOTICES TO INDIVIDUALS.— (A) G ENERAL NOTICE.— (i) IN GENERAL.—In the case of notices provided under section 606(a)(4) of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (29 U .S.C. 1166(4)), section 4980B(f)(6)(D) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, section 2206(4) of the Public Health Service Act (42 Courts.De ter mina tion. Dea dl ine. Ap pli c ation.