The new inflated penalty amounts generally apply to reporting and disclosure failures if the penalty is assessed after January 15, 2021, and if the violation occurred after November 2, 2015.

The Outbreak Period was initially instituted effective March 1, 2020 to "pause" COBRA and HIPAA Special Enrollment Period timelines, including election, initial payment, and grace period deadlines, as well as certain claims and appeals deadlines, from that date until the COVID-19 pandemic National Emergency Declaration was lifted plus 60 days.

On March 11, 2021 President Biden signed the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA). It contains many HR and benefit-related items, and there are lots of temporary significant rules for how COBRA (and state mini-COBRA laws) operate during the pandemic.

Last year’s year-end Consolidated Appropriations Act (CAA) provided that, at the employer’s discretion, a Dependent Care Reimbursement Account (DCRA) could allow unused funds from a plan year ending in 2020 to be rolled over to a plan year ending in 2021, and for unused funds from a plan year ending in 2021 to be rolled over to a plan year ending in 2022. Then, the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (ARPA) allowed an employer to temporarily increase the limit for a DCRA from $5,000 to $10,500 for 2021 and 2022. That is, if an employer so allowed, a plan participant in a flexible spending account with a DCRA could be reimbursed up to $10,500 for both 2021 and 2022 plus possibly more if unused funds were carried over from the prior plan year. But a potential tax hurdle remained.