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American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA)
Practical Law Glossary Item 3-501-7796 (Approx. 3 pages)
Glossary
American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA)
Also known as the Stimulus Bill (Pub. L. 111-5). A statute signed into law on February 17, 2009 to provide a broad-based stimulus to the economy to encourage economic recovery. ARRA contained spending and tax reductions for individuals and businesses estimated to cost $787.2 billion over ten years (2009 to 2019).
In the context of employee benefits and executive compensation, ARRA:
- Established premium assistance requirements under the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1985 (COBRA) for employees and their families who were involuntarily terminated between September 1, 2008 and December 31, 2009 (the end-date for this COBRA subsidy was later extended to May 31, 2010). (See also Practice Note, COBRA Premium Assistance Under ARPA-21 (addressing similar COBRA premium assistance legislation enacted in 2021 in response to the COVID-19 pandemic under the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (ARPA-21)).)
- Included the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act (HITECH Act), which significantly expanded the privacy and security rules under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA).
For more information on ARRA, including the text of the legislation and a summary of its provisions, as well as other government bailout programs implemented in response to the financial crisis, see Practice Note, Government Bailout Programs. For more information on ARRA's HIPAA-related changes, see Practice Notes, HIPAA Privacy Rule, HIPAA Security Rule: Overview and Administrative Safeguards, HIPAA Security Rule: Physical Safeguards, Technical Safeguards, and Other Issues, and HIPAA Breach Notification Rules.