I was laid off this July 25th. May I know if I should choose COBRA?

Question

Hi, Shall I choose Cobra for the coverage of me and my daughter or I may should search for competitive individual health insurance?

Thanks.

Kim

Answer 1

COBRA is very expensive but they will continue the coverage you already have.  You can search for a new insurance but you may have a waiting period on new policies which means you may have to wait a while before your policy will kick in and cover you.

Answer 2

In a nutshell you should only choose COBRA if you have major health issues that will prevent you from getting a much cheaper individual health insurance plan.

You can also save money by splitting up your family. If only one family member has health issues and cannot qualify for an individual plan then place that family member on the COBRA plan and have the other healthy family member purchase the much cheaper individual health insurance. Often you can even have the entire family stay with the same health insurance company (i.e. if your COBRA plan is with United Healthcare and you want the whole family to stay with United Healthcare then simply have the healthy family members purchase and individual plan with United Healthcare).

Here is some more information on COBRA health insurance:

Answer 3

Normally you pay the total premium ($ deducted from your salary plus company's portion) plus 2% for COBRA. So this turns out to be very expensive. However, if you see doctor on a regular basis, it would be nice to continue the coverage. The correct answer to your question will have two aspects - 1. your general health, and 2. your financial health. You need to decide based on these. However, if I remember correctly, you have 60 days to sign up for COBRA. So if you are healthy, wait 60 days. If you have a large sudden medical bill, sign up for COBRA. It will be effective from the day you were laid off even if you sign up later but within 60 days. I do not think you can find any good cheap medical coverage on your own.

Answer 4

Hi--this all depends on your health and if you have a preexisting condition that would force you to stay on COBRA. I sell Health Insurance in Texas and I  am ask this question frequently.

COBRA is expensive  talk to a local rep or call your current provider. /if you are health  try to find an individual policy for you and your daughter.