Which of the following is a qualifying event for a covered employee under COBRA?

• A. The employee quits or voluntarily terminates employment.
• B. The employee receives a promotion.
• C. The employee turns age 24.
• D. The employee completes a certificate program.

Answer: (A)

A COBRA qualifying event is an occurrence that would cause a loss of employer-sponsored health coverage, triggering a right to elect COBRA continuation. Quitting or voluntarily terminating employment directly ends the employee’s access to that coverage, so it clearly creates a COBRA qualifying event for the employee.

The other scenarios don’t create that loss of coverage. A promotion changes job level but not the status of health coverage, so it doesn’t trigger COBRA. Turning age 24 doesn’t cause the employee to lose eligibility (dependents typically remain eligible up to age 26 under COBRA rules, so aging to 24 isn’t a triggering event for the employee). Completing a certificate program has no impact on eligibility for employer-sponsored coverage.