Frequently Asked Questions - COBRA Frequently Asked Questions

Yes. You have several choices, including HIPAA and Conversion Plans, buying Individual Health Insurance, or MRMIP.

You cannot enroll in Federal COBRA or Cal-COBRA if you:

• Are enrolled in Medicare.
• Are fired for gross misconduct.
• Did not enroll in the time limit.
• Do not pay your premiums on time.
• Are covered or become covered by another health plan.

They end when:

• The time period ends (up to 18 months of Federal COBRA followed by up to 18 months of Cal-COBRA, or up to 36 months total if you only have Cal-COBRA).
• You do not pay your premiums on time.
• The employer no longer offers any health insurance.
• You move outside the health plan's service area.
• You enroll in Medicare.
• You enroll in another health plan.

• You have the same benefits as other employees in the same plan.
• If other employees have open enrollment periods when they can change from one plan to another, you can too.
• If the employer changes the employees from one plan to another, you change too.
• You have no restrictions because of pre-existing conditions.
• If the group plan offers specialized plans, such as dental or vision plans, they must be offered to you also. However, if you change to Cal-COBRA from Federal COBRA, these specialized plans do not have to be offered to you.

Yes. Federal COBRA lasts 18 months. Then you can keep your health insurance for 18 more months under Cal-COBRA.

• You may be able to get Federal COBRA if you have health insurance through an employer who has 20 or more employees and there is a qualifying event described below.
• You may be able to get Cal-COBRA if you have health insurance through an employer who has 2 to 19 employees and there is a qualifying event described below.

  A qualifying event means that you lose your health insurance because:

  • The employee's job ends.
  • The employee's hours are cut.
  • You divorce or legally separate from the employee.
  • You are no longer a dependent of the employee.
  • The employee enrolls in Medicare.
  • The employee dies.

The HR department of your previous company is a good place to start. If you can

If you previous employer cancels their group health insurance, you will lose your COBRA option. If your employer decides to switch health insurance to a different insurance company, you will be provided with the opportunity to elect coverage with this new insurance carrier.

This will depend on your eligibility for other options based on your health status at that time. This will be better explained in the

In general, you can remain on COBRA for a period of 18 months. Disabled persons and other qualified beneficiaries may be eligible to remain on the COBRA plan for an additional 11 months, but at an increased premium. This may vary under some state mini-COBRA laws.

Your COBRA coverage will begin on the day following the termination date of your coverage under your previous health plan. This will likely be the first day of the month following the date that you were terminated. If you do not enroll in COBRA prior to this date, you are responsible for making up the premium payment back to this date.

Yes, your coverage will not change. You will be on the exact same plan that you had when you were employed. During an open enrollment period, you may have the option to switch to other available plans offered under the existing group health insurance policy.

If there is no continuing group health insurance plan through your previous employer, there is no COBRA option available to you. In order to maintain a group health plan, a company must have employees currently on payroll. If a company goes out of business, they are no longer qualified to maintain group health insurance, which in turn affects the COBRA rights of all individuals previously insured under that plan.

No. Any, or all, qualified COBRA beneficiaries may enroll in COBRA. You can select which family members to enroll in COBRA after reviewing other available options.

This will depend on how much your employer was paying for your insurance. Under federal COBRA, your maximum premium will be 102% of the amount that was charged to your employer by the insurance company. Under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, you may be entitled to a 65% reduction of this premium.

You have 60 days from the date that your coverage under the group plan is terminated or from the date that the COBRA election notice has been provided. This is referred to as the

In general, your employer must notify the health plan administrator within 30 days from the date of the termination of employment. Notice must be sent to you within 14 days of the plan administrator being notified. Since not all employers are as familiar with COBRA laws as they should be, we highly recommend that you contact your previous employer or insurance carrier within the first 10 days following termination notice to ask for your COBRA election papers. This will also insure that your notice is sent to the proper address, which you should also verify during this phone call. This may vary under some state mini-COBRA laws.

Under federal COBRA, which applies to groups of 20 or more employees, you must be a