Sentinel Group

This concerns my Cobra continuation benefit through Sentinel Benefits. I left my employer on December 30. I received a letter from Sentinel dated January 23 that I was eligible to continue my Flexible Spending Account (FSA) and dental through Cobra. The letter indicated that the FSA would continue through December 31 and dental through July 31, 2024. I replied that I agreed to continue both and made the first payment. I received a second letter dated January 27 acknowledging that I was continuing both plans, which included a payment schedule with the FSA through December 2023 and dental through July 2024. After receiving this, I made the second payment. When I logged into the website to file expenses, the online FSA account indicated that all expenses must be incurred by February 28 with final submission on May 31. Nothing in the two letters indicated that I had to incur expenses within 2 months of leaving my employer while making payments to the end of 2023, and I would not have elected the FSA if Sentinel had communicated this to me. I inquired by phone to Sentinel and a representative informed me that these were the requirements of the plan. I have paid $201.02 towards the FSA for 2023 and received $39.68 in reimbursement, leaving $161.34 unrecoverable to date.