[Federal Register Volume 63, Number 4 (Wednesday, January 7, 1998)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 708-712]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 98-232]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY

Internal Revenue Service

26 CFR Part 54

[REG-209485-86]
RIN 1545-AI93


Continuation Coverage Requirements of Group Health Plans

AGENCY: Internal Revenue Service (IRS), Treasury.

ACTION: Notice of proposed rulemaking.

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SUMMARY: This document contains proposed regulations that provide 
guidance under section 4980B of the Internal Revenue Code on certain 
changes made by the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act 
of 1996, the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1989, and the 
Technical and Miscellaneous Revenue Act of 1988 relating to the 
continuation coverage requirements applicable to group health plans. 
The regulations will generally affect sponsors of and participants in 
group health plans, and they provide plan sponsors and plan 
administrators with guidance necessary to comply with the law.

DATES: Written comments and requests for a public hearing must be 
received by April 7, 1998.

ADDRESSES: Send Submissions to: CC:DOM:CORP:R (REG-209485-86), room 
5226, Internal Revenue Service, POB 7604, Ben Franklin Station, 
Washington, DC 20044. Submissions may be hand delivered between the 
hours of 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. to: CC:DOM:CORP:R (REG-209485-86), Courier's 
Desk, Internal Revenue Service, 1111 Constitution Avenue NW, 
Washington, DC. Alternatively, taxpayers may submit comments 
electronically via the Internet by selecting the ``Tax Regs'' option on 
the IRS Home Page, or by submitting comments directly to the IRS 
Internet site at http://www.irs.ustreas.gov/prod/tax__regs/
comments.html.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Concerning the regulations, Russ 
Weinheimer, 202-622-4695; concerning submissions or requests for a 
hearing, LaNita VanDyke, 202-622-7190 (not toll-free numbers).

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Paperwork Reduction Act

    The collection of information contained in this notice of proposed 
rulemaking has been submitted to the Office of Management and Budget 
(OMB) for review in accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 
(44 U.S.C. 3507(d)). Comments on the collection of information should 
be sent to the Office of Management and Budget, Attn: Desk Officer for 
the Department of the Treasury, Office of Information and Regulatory 
Affairs, Washington, DC 20503, with copies to the Internal Revenue 
Service, Attn: IRS Reports Clearance Officer, T:FP, Washington, DC 
20224. Comments on the collection of information should be received by 
March 9, 1998. Comments are specifically requested concerning the 
following:
    Whether the proposed collection of information is necessary for the 
proper performance of the functions of the Internal Revenue Service, 
including whether the information will have practical utility;
    The accuracy of the estimated burden associated with the proposed 
collection of information;
    How to enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the information 
to be collected;
    How to minimize the burden of complying with the proposed 
collection of information, including the application of automated 
collection techniques or other forms of information technology; and
    Estimates of capital or start-up costs and costs of operation, 
maintenance, and purchase of services to provide information.
    The collection of information is in proposed Sec. 54.4980B-
1(a)(1)(iii). This collection of information is required by statute. 
The likely respondents are individuals. Responses to this collection of 
information are required in order to obtain the benefit of an extended 
period during which a group health plan must make COBRA continuation 
coverage available.
    Estimated total annual reporting burden: 440 hours.
    The estimated annual burden per respondent: 1 minute.
    Estimated number of respondents: 26,400.
    Estimated annual frequency of responses: on occasion.
    An agency may not conduct or sponsor, and a person is not required 
to respond to, a collection of information unless the collection of 
information displays a valid control number.
    Books or records relating to a collection of information must be

[[Page 709]]

retained as long as their contents may become material in the 
administration of any internal revenue law. Generally tax returns and 
tax return information are confidential, as required by 26 U.S.C. 6103.

Background

    The Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1985 (COBRA) 
amended the Code to add health care continuation coverage requirements. 
These provisions, now set forth in section 4980B of the Code,\1\ 
generally apply to a group health plan maintained by an employer with 
at least 20 employees, and require such a plan to offer each qualified 
beneficiary who would otherwise lose coverage as a result of a 
qualifying event an opportunity to elect, within the applicable 
election period, COBRA continuation coverage. The COBRA continuation 
coverage requirements were amended on various occasions,\2\ most 
recently under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act 
of 1996 (HIPAA).
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    \1\ The COBRA continuation coverage requirements were initially 
set forth under section 162(k) of the Code, but were moved to 
section 4980B of the Code by the Technical and Miscellaneous Revenue 
Act of 1988 (TAMRA). TAMRA changed the sanction for failure to 
comply with the continuation coverage requirements of the Code from 
a disallowance of certain employer deductions under section 162 (and 
denial of the income exclusion under section 106(a) to certain 
highly compensated employees of the employer) to an excise tax under 
section 4980B.
    \2\ Changes affecting the COBRA continuation coverage provisions 
were made under the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1986, the 
Tax Reform Act of 1986, the Technical and Miscellaneous Revenue Act 
of 1988, the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1989, the Omnibus 
Budget Reconciliation Act of 1990, the Small Business Job Protection 
Act of 1996, and the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability 
Act of 1996. The statutory continuation coverage requirements have 
also been affected by an amendment made to the definition of group 
health plan in section 5000(b)(1) by the Omnibus Budget 
Reconciliation Act of 1993; that definition is incorporated by 
reference in section 4980B(g)(2).
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    Proposed regulations providing guidance under the continuation 
coverage requirements as originally enacted by COBRA and as amended by 
the Tax Reform Act of 1986, were published as proposed Treasury 
Regulation Sec. 1.162-26 in the Federal Register of June 15, 1987 (52 
FR 22716).
    The new set of proposed regulations being published in this notice 
of proposed rulemaking reflects principally the most recent set of 
statutory changes--those made by HIPAA--but also reflects certain 
changes made by the Technical and Miscellaneous Revenue Act of 1988 
(TAMRA) and by the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1989 (OBRA 
'89).

Explanation of Provisions

Disability Extension; Permitted Premiums

    As originally enacted, the COBRA continuation coverage provisions 
required plans to make continuation coverage available for up to 18 
months in the case of a qualifying event that is a termination of 
employment or reduction in hours of employment and for up to 36 months 
for all other qualifying events, such as death of the covered employee, 
divorce from the covered employee, or a dependent child ceasing to be a 
dependent under the generally applicable requirements of the plan. If 
someone became entitled to the 18-month maximum period of coverage and 
experienced a second qualifying event during that period of COBRA 
continuation coverage, then the law provided an extended period of 
coverage so that there would be a total of 36 months of COBRA 
continuation coverage measured from the date of the first qualifying 
event.
    Under OBRA '89, provisions were added allowing the 18-month period 
to be extended to 29 months if a qualified beneficiary was disabled at 
the time of the qualifying event. Section 421 of HIPAA changed these 
provisions by requiring plans to allow the disability extension if a 
qualified beneficiary is disabled within the first 60 days of COBRA 
continuation coverage and by clarifying that nondisabled qualified 
beneficiaries with respect to the same qualifying event are also 
entitled to the disability extension.
    Thus, under the current provisions in the Code, all qualified 
beneficiaries with respect to the same qualifying event are entitled to 
an extension of the maximum period of COBRA continuation coverage from 
18 to 29 months, if three conditions are satisfied. First, each 
qualified beneficiary must be a qualified beneficiary in connection 
with a qualifying event that is a termination of employment or 
reduction in hours of employment. Second, a qualified beneficiary must 
be determined to have been disabled (within the meaning of title II or 
title XVI of the Social Security Act) within the first 60 days of COBRA 
continuation coverage. Third, the plan administrator must be provided 
with a copy of the determination of disability on a date that is both 
within 60 days after the determination is issued and before the end of 
the initial 18-month period of COBRA continuation coverage. In the case 
of a disability extension, for any period after the end of the 18th 
month of COBRA continuation coverage, the plan may generally require 
payment for COBRA continuation coverage in an amount that does not 
exceed 150 percent of the applicable premium.
    These proposed regulations clarify the statutory disability 
extension requirements in several respects. For example, the first 60 
days of COBRA continuation coverage are generally measured from the 
date of the termination of employment or reduction in hours of 
employment. An exception applies if coverage would be lost (in the 
absence of an election for COBRA continuation coverage) after the date 
of the qualifying event and if the plan has elected to measure both the 
maximum coverage period and the period for providing notice upon the 
occurrence of a qualifying event from the date that coverage would be 
lost rather than from the date of the qualifying event. In such a case, 
the first 60 days of COBRA continuation coverage are also measured from 
the date that coverage would be lost.
    In addition, these proposed regulations make clear that the 
disability extension applies to each qualified beneficiary, whether or 
not disabled, that each qualified beneficiary has an independent right 
to the disability extension, and that any of the qualified 
beneficiaries may provide the plan administrator with a copy of the 
determination of disability.
    Another clarification relates to the period during which the plan 
may charge 150 percent of the applicable premium. These proposed 
regulations make clear that the plan may require payment equal to 150 
percent of the applicable premium if a disabled qualified beneficiary 
experiences a second qualifying event during the disability extension. 
In such a case (that is, where the disabled qualified beneficiary is 
entitled to a 36-month maximum coverage period only because a second 
qualifying event occurs during the disability extension), the plan may 
require payment of 150 percent of the applicable premium until the end 
of the 36-month maximum coverage period.
    HIPAA also added provisions to the Code, in section 9802(b), that 
generally prohibit discrimination in premiums on the basis of health 
status, including on the basis of disability. These proposed 
regulations clarify that a plan that requires a disabled qualified 
beneficiary entitled to the disability extension to pay 150 percent of 
the applicable premium (as permitted by the proposed regulations) does 
not for that reason fail to comply with the nondiscrimination 
requirements of section 9802(b).
    These proposed regulations do not address the extent to which a 
plan can charge 150 percent of the applicable

[[Page 710]]

premium to a qualified beneficiary who is not disabled. Comments are 
requested on this issue.

Newborn and Adopted Children Treated as Qualified Beneficiaries

    Section 421 of HIPAA also provides that a child born to or placed 
for adoption with the covered employee during a period of COBRA 
continuation coverage is a qualified beneficiary. Such a child 
generally is eligible to be enrolled immediately for COBRA continuation 
coverage under the plan. These proposed regulations clarify that the 
maximum coverage period for such a child is measured from the date of 
the qualifying event that gives rise to the period of COBRA 
continuation coverage during which the child is born or adopted and not 
from the date of birth or placement for adoption. Thus, the child's 
maximum period of COBRA continuation coverage would end at the same 
time as the maximum period for other family members. In addition, the 
statutory term placement for adoption is clarified to include an 
adoption that is not preceded by a placement for adoption.

Long-Term Care; MSAs

    Section 321(d) of HIPAA amended section 4980B of the Code to 
provide that a plan does not constitute a group health plan subject to 
the COBRA continuation coverage requirements if substantially all of 
the coverage provided under the plan is for qualified long-term care 
services, as defined in section 7702B(c). These proposed regulations 
permit a plan to use any reasonable method in determining whether 
substantially all of the coverage is for qualified long-term care 
services. Further, the proposed regulations reflect section 106(b)(5), 
added by HIPAA, which provides that COBRA continuation coverage is not 
required to be made available with respect to medical savings accounts 
(MSAs), as defined under section 220.

Good Faith/Reasonable Interpretations

    The effective date of these regulations, when made final, will not 
be earlier than the date of publication of final regulations in the 
Federal Register. For the period before the effective date of final 
regulations, plans and employers are required to operate in good faith 
compliance with a reasonable interpretation of the statutory 
requirements. Compliance with the terms of the proposed regulations 
concerning the matters addressed is deemed to be good faith compliance 
with a reasonable interpretation of the statutory requirements. Actions 
inconsistent with the terms of the proposed regulations will not 
necessarily constitute a lack of good faith compliance with a 
reasonable interpretation of the statutory requirements; whether there 
has been good faith compliance with a reasonable interpretation of the 
statutory requirements will depend on all the facts and circumstances 
of each case. Plans and employers may also continue to rely on proposed 
Treasury Regulation Sec. 1.162-26 (published on June 15, 1987 in 52 FR 
22716), except to the extent that that proposed regulation is 
inconsistent with statutory amendments made after its date of 
publication.

Future Guidance Concerning COBRA Obligations in Certain Stock and Asset 
Sales

    Treasury and the IRS are currently considering the issuance of 
guidance concerning COBRA obligations in cases involving a sale of 
stock in an employer that causes the employer to become a member of 
another controlled group of corporations (a ``stock sale''), or a sale 
of substantial assets by an employer (such as a plant or division) to 
another employer outside the controlled group (an ``asset sale'').
    The approach under consideration generally would provide, in the 
case of a stock sale to a buyer maintaining a group health plan, that 
the buyer's group health plan (and not a plan maintained by the seller) 
would be responsible, after the date of the sale, for complying with 
the COBRA continuation coverage requirements with respect to any 
covered employee (and associated qualified beneficiary) whose last 
employment was with the sold corporation. Thus, for example, the 
buyer's group health plan would have the obligation, after the date of 
the sale, to comply with the COBRA continuation coverage requirements 
with respect to those individuals regardless of whether their 
qualifying events were connected to the sale of stock or were in 
advance of and not connected to the sale. If the buyer did not maintain 
a group health plan, then a group health plan of the seller would 
continue to be responsible for complying with the COBRA continuation 
coverage requirements with respect to qualified beneficiaries 
associated with the sold corporation.
    In the case of an asset sale, the approach under consideration 
generally would provide that a group health plan maintained by the 
seller (and not a plan maintained by the buyer) would be responsible 
for complying with the COBRA continuation coverage requirements with 
respect to any covered employee (and associated qualified beneficiary) 
whose last employment was associated with the purchased assets. 
However, an exception would be provided if the buyer were a ``successor 
employer,'' in which case a group health plan of the buyer would be 
responsible for complying with the COBRA continuation coverage 
requirements with respect to qualified beneficiaries associated with 
the purchased assets. Consideration is being given to treating a buyer 
as a successor employer in connection with an asset sale only if the 
buyer acquires substantial assets (such as a plant or division, or 
substantially all of the assets of a trade or business) and continues 
the business operations associated with those assets without 
interruption or substantial change, and only if, in connection with the 
sale, the selling employer ceases to maintain any group health plan. 
The approach might also include a presumption that the cessation is in 
connection with the sale if it occurs within 6 months of the sale.
    Comments are requested on this possible approach to assigning 
responsibility for compliance with the COBRA continuation coverage 
requirements in the context of stock sales and asset sales and on any 
related issues that should be addressed.

Special Analyses

    It has been determined that this notice of proposed rulemaking is 
not a significant regulatory action as defined in Executive Order 
12866. Therefore, a regulatory assessment is not required. It is hereby 
certified that the collection-of-information requirement in these 
regulations will not have a significant economic impact on a 
substantial number of small entities. This certification is based on 
the fact that the collection-of-information requirement is imposed on 
individual qualified beneficiaries and not on small businesses or other 
small entities. Therefore, a Regulatory Flexibility Analysis under the 
Regulatory Flexibility Act (5 U.S.C. chapter 6) is not required. 
Pursuant to section 7805(f) of the Internal Revenue Code, this notice 
of proposed rulemaking will be submitted to the Chief Counsel for 
Advocacy of the Small Business Administration for comment on its impact 
on small business.

Comments and Requests for a Public Hearing

    Before these proposed regulations are adopted as final regulations, 
consideration will be given to any written comments that are submitted 
timely (a signed original and eight (8)

[[Page 711]]

copies) to the IRS. All comments will be available for public 
inspection and copying. A public hearing may be scheduled if requested 
in writing by a person that timely submits written comments. If a 
public hearing is scheduled, notice of the date, time, and place for 
the hearing will be published in the Federal Register. 

Drafting Information

    The principal author of these proposed regulations is Russ 
Weinheimer, Office of the Associate Chief Counsel (Employee Benefits 
and Exempt Organizations). However, other personnel from the IRS and 
Treasury Department participated in their development.

List of Subjects in 26 CFR Part 54

    Excise taxes, Health insurance, Pensions, Reporting and 
recordkeeping requirements.

Proposed Amendments to the Regulations

    Accordingly, 26 CFR part 54 is proposed to be amended as follows:
    Paragraph 1. The authority citation for Part 54 is amended in part 
by adding an entry in numerical order to read as follows:

    Authority: 26 U.S.C. 7805 * * *

    Section 54.4980B-1 also issued under 26 U.S.C. 4980B. * * *
    Par. 2. A new section 54.4980B-1 is added to read as follows:


Sec. 54.4980B-1  Certain changes to the continuation coverage 
requirements of group health plans.

    (a) Disability extension--(1) In general. Paragraphs (a)(2), (3), 
and (4) of this section (describing qualified beneficiaries entitled to 
a disability extension, the length of the extension, and the amount 
that a plan can require qualified beneficiaries to pay during the 
extension) apply to a group health plan only if all three of the 
conditions of this paragraph (a)(1) are satisfied.
    (i) A termination-of-employment qualifying event occurs.
    (ii) An individual (whether or not the covered employee) who is a 
qualified beneficiary in connection with the termination-of-employment 
qualifying event is determined under title II or XVI of the Social 
Security Act to have been disabled at any time during the first 60 days 
of COBRA continuation coverage. For this purpose, the first 60 days of 
COBRA continuation coverage are measured from the date of the 
termination-of-employment qualifying event, except that if a loss of 
coverage would occur at a later date in the absence of an election for 
COBRA continuation coverage and if the plan provides for the extension 
of required periods (as permitted under section 4980B(f)(8)), then the 
first 60 days of COBRA continuation coverage are measured from the date 
on which the coverage would be lost.
    (iii) Any of the qualified beneficiaries affected by the 
termination-of-employment qualifying event provides notice to the plan 
administrator of the disability determination on a date that is both 
within 60 days after the date the determination is issued and before 
the end of the original 18-month maximum coverage period that applies 
to the termination-of-employment qualifying event.
    (2) Maximum coverage period--(i) The maximum coverage period ends--
    (A) 29 months after the date of the termination-of-employment 
qualifying event; or
    (B) 36 months after the date of the termination-of-employment 
qualifying event if a qualifying event (other than a bankruptcy 
qualifying event) occurs during the 29-month period that begins on the 
date of the termination-of-employment qualifying event.
    (ii) If, in the absence of an election for COBRA continuation 
coverage, coverage under the group health plan would be lost after the 
date of the termination-of-employment qualifying event and the plan 
provides for the extension of the required periods, as permitted under 
section 4980B(f)(8), then the dates or periods in paragraph (a)(2)(i) 
of this section are measured from the date on which coverage would be 
lost and not from the date of the termination-of-employment qualifying 
event.
    (iii) Nothing in section 4980B or this section prohibits a group 
health plan from providing coverage that continues beyond the end of 
the maximum coverage period.
    (3) Application to all qualified beneficiaries. Paragraph (a)(2) of 
this section applies to all qualified beneficiaries entitled to COBRA 
continuation coverage because of the same termination-of-employment 
qualifying event. Thus, for example, the 29-month period applies to 
each qualified beneficiary who is not disabled as well as to the 
qualified beneficiary who is disabled, and it applies independently 
with respect to each of the qualified beneficiaries.
    (4) Payment during disability extension--(i) Disabled qualified 
beneficiaries--(A) A group health plan is permitted to require a 
disabled qualified beneficiary described in paragraph (a)(1) of this 
section, for any period of COBRA continuation coverage after the end of 
the 18th month, to pay an amount that does not exceed 150 percent of 
the applicable premium. However, the plan is not permitted to require a 
disabled qualified beneficiary described in paragraph (a)(1) of this 
section to pay an amount that exceeds 102 percent of the applicable 
premium for any period of COBRA continuation coverage to which the 
qualified beneficiary is entitled without regard to the application of 
this paragraph (a). Thus, if a disabled qualified beneficiary described 
in paragraph (a)(1) of this section experiences a second qualifying 
event within the original 18-month period of COBRA continuation 
coverage, then the plan is not permitted to require the qualified 
beneficiary to pay an amount that exceeds 102 percent of the applicable 
premium for any period of COBRA continuation coverage. By contrast, if 
a disabled qualified beneficiary described in paragraph (a)(1) of this 
section experiences a second qualifying event after the end of the 18th 
month of original COBRA continuation coverage, the plan may require the 
qualified beneficiary to pay an amount that is up to 150 percent of the 
applicable premium for the remainder of the period of COBRA 
continuation coverage (that is, from the beginning of the 19th month 
through the end of the 36th month).
    (B) A group health plan does not fail to comply with section 
9802(b) and Sec. 54.9802-1T(b) (which generally prohibit an individual 
from being charged, on the basis of health status, a higher premium 
than that charged for similarly situated individuals enrolled in the 
plan) with respect to a disabled qualified beneficiary described in 
paragraph (a)(1) of this section merely because the plan requires 
payment of a premium in an amount permitted under paragraph 
(a)(4)(i)(A) of this section.
    (ii) Nondisabled qualified beneficiaries. [Reserved].
    (b) Newborns and adopted children. A child who is born to or placed 
for adoption with a covered employee during a period of COBRA 
continuation coverage is a qualified beneficiary and generally is 
eligible to be enrolled immediately for COBRA continuation coverage 
under the plan. See section 4980B(g)(1)(A), section 9801(f)(2) and 
Sec. 54.9801-6T(b) (relating to special enrollment rights of dependents 
of employees), and Q&A-31 of Sec. 1.162-26 of this chapter (relating to 
the right of qualified beneficiaries to have new family members covered 
to the same extent that similarly situated active employees can have 
new family members covered under the plan). Such a child has the same 
open-enrollment-period rights as other qualified

[[Page 712]]

beneficiaries with respect to the same qualifying event (see Q&A-30(c) 
of Sec. 1.162-26 of this chapter) and would be entitled to a 36-month 
maximum coverage period if a second qualifying event occurred while the 
child was in a period of COBRA continuation coverage resulting from a 
termination-of-employment qualifying event. The maximum coverage period 
for such a child is measured from the same date as for other qualified 
beneficiaries with respect to the same qualifying event (and not from 
the date of the birth or placement for adoption). In contrast, neither 
the covered employee, the spouse of the covered employee, nor any other 
dependent child of the covered employee is a qualified beneficiary 
unless that person is covered under a group health plan on the day 
before a qualifying event. See also Q&A-31 of Sec. 1.162-26 of this 
chapter.
    (c) Plan providing long-term care. A plan is not subject to the 
COBRA continuation coverage requirements if substantially all of the 
coverage provided under the plan is for qualified long-term care 
services (as defined in section 7702B(c)). For this purpose, a plan is 
permitted to use any reasonable method in determining whether 
substantially all of the coverage under the plan is for qualified long-
term care services.
    (d) Medical savings accounts. Under section 106(b)(5), amounts 
contributed by an employer to a medical savings account are not 
considered part of a group health plan that is subject to section 
4980B. Thus, a plan is not required to make COBRA continuation coverage 
available with respect to a medical savings account. However, a high 
deductible health plan that covers a medical savings account holder may 
be a group health plan and thus may be subject to the COBRA 
continuation coverage requirements.
    (e) Definitions. For purposes of this section--
    Applicable premium is defined in section 4980B(f)(4).
    Bankruptcy qualifying event is a qualifying event described in 
section 4980B(f)(3)(F) (relating to certain bankruptcy proceedings).
    Covered employee is defined in section 4980B(f)(7).
    Group health plan is defined in section 4980B(g)(2).
    High deductible health plan is defined in section 220(c)(2).
    Medical savings account is defined in section 220(d).
    Placement, or being placed, for adoption means the assumption and 
retention by the covered employee of a legal obligation for total or 
partial support of a child in anticipation of the adoption of the 
child. The child's placement for adoption with the covered employee 
terminates upon the termination of the legal obligation for total or 
partial support. For purposes of this section and section 4980B, a 
child who is immediately adopted by the covered employee without a 
preceding placement for adoption is considered to be placed for 
adoption on the date of the adoption.
    Qualified beneficiary is defined in section 4980B(g)(1).
    Qualified long-term care services is defined in section 7702B(c).
    Termination-of-employment qualifying event is a qualifying event 
described in section 4980B(f)(3)(B) (relating to qualifying events that 
occur as a result of a termination of employment, other than for gross 
misconduct, or reduction of hours of employment).
Michael P. Dolan,
Deputy Commissioner of Internal Revenue.
[FR Doc. 98-232 Filed 1-6-98; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4830-01-U