Insurance COBRA administration?

Question

How long will it stay in effect ? When can I get a rate quote (BCBS will not give me one) What happens with a job change ? Will I lose all rights ?

Answer 1

COBRA is available to you for four months after your separation date.  Let's say your termination date is in March (even if your last day worked is March 7).  COBRA would take effect in April, and would last through the end of July - four full months.

If you get a new job, you can continue to pay COBRA before your new insurance kicks in.  If your new insurance starts immediately, you'll be better off to take it and drop the COBRA.  (As you probably already know, COBRA is VERY expensive).  

I don't know who BCBS is.  Is that your former employer?  They are required BY LAW to offer you COBRA!

Answer 2

First, only employers with more than 20 employees must offer COBRA. Your employer must notify the insurance plan administrator within 30 days of your termination, and the administrator has 14 days to give you a rate quote. Go to your employer first. If your employer (or plan administrator) did not send you the election form for COBRA continuation they can be fined by the US Department of Labor (DOL).  You can reach the DOL at 1-866-487-2365.

You can buy COBRA coverage for up to 18 months if you were terminated. If the qualifying event was death of the employee or divorce, you can buy coverage for up to 36 months.

Answer 3

Two of the three previous people are correct. The difference between the 18 and 36 month coverage is determined by who the qualifying event happens to. If the primary participant (usually the employee, but could be a survivor, depending on the employer's plan) is affected, everyone enrolled to that account is entitled to 18 months. If the event happens solely to a dependent (reaching limiting age, divorce, etc.) then the offered term is 36 months. There are some states (CA for one) that offer 36 months to everyone for certain plan types (fully insured HMOs for instance). Your benefits administrator (usually the people you contact to make changes, like annual enrollment) will have all the information you need. The insurance carriers won't quote you, because they're not billing you in most cases, and their plan prices vary greatly by client, so they don't spend the resources keeping track of premiums in member services. You have 60 days from your notification date to enroll (usually the date on your notice), and then 45 days from the day you elect to make your first payment. So, you essentially have 105 days to decide if you need to take the coverage, which is important if you're just between jobs. Wait as long as you dare, on the chance you may gain other coverage before you need medical services. If you get new coverage, you can just not pay, and they will term you back to the original start date. If you do elect, your coverage will always have a retroactive start date to the first day after you lost your group coverage, and you will owe for that, so keep that in mind if you wait, because you will owe for all the months of coverage on your first payment. Cobra can be cancelled at any time, but few companies will pro rate months, so you'll have to take your coverage in monthly chunks. You can also be terminated for late payments, so find out about grace periods. Once you get termed, you're out for good. If you decide to wait, and you get other coverage and find you don't need to pick up the COBRA, don't worry about the gap in coverage. HIPAA regulations allow for a break of up to 61 days when moving from one GROUP coverage to another before any pre-existing condition limitations can be imposed by the new insurance company. If you have a chronic condition or are in treatment for a disease, keep that in mind, you may want to pay for one month of COBRA to save yourself big expenses that the new company won't cover if your gap is too big.

Answer 4

In most cases COBRA will be effective for 18 months. You must qualify for COBRA by loosing your current group health coverage. Also, if the group has less than 20 lives it may not be offered to you. After you qualify for COBRA the information will be sent to you. You will then have 60 days to apply but you must pay the premium from the first day of termination from your old plan. The rate will be 102% of the total cost of your terminated insurance. The total cost is the cost you pay PLUS the cost the employer pays, if any.

Here is some basic COBRA information: http://www.dol.gov/dol/topic/health-plan...