Cobra Health Insurance: Things You Need To Know
You should understand that by law you are still entitled to continue your group health coverage if you lost your job for any reason. It does not matter if you received a pink slip, resigned or have been cut down to part-time.
Rights are guaranteed under COBRA. COBRA, also known as the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1986, is an adjustment of the Employee Retirement Security Act. It gives one security once their group health plan has ended.
In spite of why one may have lost their employment, with the exclusion of gross misconduct, they have the chance to maintain your employer’s group plan for up to 18 months if they meet the premiums. COBRA coverage is offered to spouses and dependent children for as long as three years.
One might be responsible for 100% of the premiums with an additional 2% administrative fee to maintain COBRA. The cost of COBRA is extremely expensive and most can not maintain the payments for it.
Most people that are eligible for COBRA consider buying individual health insurance or short-term health insurance to bridge the gap until they land a new job with health benefits. In order to qualify for COBRA a company must have employed a minimum of 20 workers at least half the year that are enrolled in a group plan. Eligibility for COBRA is dependent on qualifying events.
These events include leaving a company and becoming unemployed or self-employed, being a widow or widower or child of an employee who died, divorced spouse or child of an employee who has left the company, or are the child of an employee and you have reached the plan’s cut-off age. The law grants an exemption from COBRA continuation rules to federal employees, certain church-related organizations and firms employing fewer than 20 people.
The Internal Revenue Service says that an employer will be required to calculate part-time employees into their totals to establish if they can declare exclusion. Some states have enacted “mini-COBRA” laws that apply to employers with 2 to 19 workers.