[Code of Federal Regulations]

[Title 29, Volume 9]

[Revised as of July 1, 2006]

From the U.S. Government Printing Office via GPO Access

[CITE: 29CFR2590.609-2]



[Page 678-679]

 

                             TITLE 29--LABOR

 

 CHAPTER XXV--EMPLOYEE BENEFITS SECURITY ADMINISTRATION, DEPARTMENT OF 

                                  LABOR

 

PART 2590_RULES AND REGULATIONS FOR GROUP HEALTH PLANS--Table of Contents

 

Subpart A_Continuation Coverage, Qualified Medical Child Support Orders, 

                      Coverage for Adopted Children

 

Sec.  2590.609-2  National Medical Support Notice.



    (a) This section promulgates the National Medical Support Notice 

(the Notice), as mandated by section 401(b) of the Child Support 

Performance and Incentive Act of 1998 (Pub. L. 105-200). If the Notice 

is appropriately completed and satisfies paragraphs (3) and (4) of 

section 609(a) of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA), 

the Notice is deemed to be a qualified medical child support order 

(QMCSO) pursuant to ERISA section 609(a)(5)(C). Section 609(a) of ERISA 

delineates the rights and obligations of the alternate recipient 

(child), the participant, and the group health plan under a QMCSO. A 

copy of the Notice is available on the Internet at http://www.dol.gov/

ebsa.

    (b) For purposes of this section, a plan administrator shall find 

that a Notice is appropriately completed if it contains the name of an 

Issuing Agency, the name and mailing address (if any) of an employee who 

is a participant under the plan, the name and mailing address of one or 

more alternate recipient(s) (child(ren) of the participant) (or the name 

and address of a substituted official or agency which has been 

substituted for the mailing address of the alternate recipient(s)), and 

identifies an underlying child support order.

    (c)(1) Under section 609(a)(3)(A) of ERISA, in order to be 

qualified, a medical child support order must clearly specify the name 

and the last known mailing address (if any) of the participant and the 

name and mailing address of each alternate recipient covered by the 

order, except that, to the extent provided in the order, the name and 

mailing address of an official of a State or a political subdivision 

thereof may be substituted for the mailing address of any such alternate 

recipient. Section 609(a)(3)(B) of ERISA requires a reasonable 

description of the type of coverage to be provided to each such 

alternate recipient, or the manner in which such type of coverage is to 

be determined. Section 609(a)(3)(C) of ERISA requires that the order 

specify the period to which such order applies.

    (2) The Notice satisfies ERISA section 609(a)(3)(A) by including the 

necessary identifying information described in Sec.  2590.609-2(b).

    (3) The Notice satisfies ERISA section 609(a)(3)(B) by having the 

Issuing Agency identify either the specific type of coverage or all 

available group health coverage. If an employer receives a Notice that 

does not designate either specific type(s) of coverage or all available 

coverage, the employer and plan administrator should assume that all are 

designated. The Notice further satisfies ERISA section 609(a)(3)(B) by 

instructing the plan administrator that if a group health plan has 

multiple options and the participant is not enrolled, the Issuing Agency 

will make a selection after the Notice is qualified, and, if the Issuing 

Agency does not respond within 20 days, the child will be enrolled under 

the plan's default option (if any).

    (4) Section 609(a)(3)(C) of ERISA is satisfied because the Notice 

specifies that the period of coverage may only



[[Page 679]]



end for the alternate recipient(s) when similarly situated dependents 

are no longer eligible for coverage under the terms of the plan, or upon 

the occurrence of certain specified events.

    (d)(1) Under ERISA section 609(a)(4), a qualified medical child 

support order may not require a plan to provide any type or form of 

benefit, or any option, not otherwise provided under the plan, except to 

the extent necessary to meet the requirements of a law relating to 

medical child support described in section 1908 of the Social Security 

Act, 42 U.S.C. 1396g-1.

    (2) The Notice satisfies the conditions of ERISA section 609(a)(4) 

because it requires the plan to provide to an alternate recipient only 

those benefits that the plan provides to any dependent of a participant 

who is enrolled in the plan, and any other benefits that are necessary 

to meet the requirements of a State law described in such section 1908.

    (e) For the purposes of this section, an ``Issuing Agency'' is a 

State agency that administers the child support enforcement program 

under Part D of Title IV of the Social Security Act.



[65 FR 82142, Dec. 27, 2000]