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COBRA Basics
What is COBRA?
COBRA is basically continuation of a prior group coverage that usually lasts
18 months. You are able to elect to get Cobra within a 62 day window from your
last date of group coverage and continue monthly. Most people do not know that
they have options to Cobra that can reduce their cost because Cobra is typically
extremely expensive in comparison. Here are some general points on Cobra
coverage followed by some alternatives to reduce cost:
- Cobra rates are usually 10% higher than what the company was paying for
you
- You can get a short term policy either month to month or for a specific
period of time while you are between jobs or waiting for a new policy to
begin. Short term health insurance policies are generally much less
expensive and have more lenient underwriting compared to permanent
individual/family health insurance policies.
- Dependent costs are usually very much higher on a Cobra (Group) plan
compared to the employee cost. Cobra coverage can be split up to cover only
the primary insured. Or, for example, you can get your own individual
Colorado health insurance plan and keep someone who is unable to qualify
(pre-existing conditions) on Cobra. Verify with your Cobra
administrator/carrier before you make any changes like this first.
- If you wait until the end of your 62 day window, you will still be
required to back-pay the first two months of Cobra to make it current.
- Cobra is month to month.
- If you are unable to qualify for Individual/Family coverage and you
exhaust Cobra, then there is typically a HIPAA or Cover Colorado option
available to you. By law, each carrier must offer their two most popular
Individual plans on a Guaranteed Issue basis to HIPAA eligible individuals.
The rates are higher than qualifying based on health but it does provide a
back-up option in case you are unable to get your own Individual coverage.
There is also a 62 day window from the last date of Cobra coverage to
initiate HIPAA. Please check with us for HIPAA information and/or rates.
We Make Your Cobra Options Easy
You need to know that your family is covered for the unexpected without
giving up too much of your time worrying about how. That's why we're here.
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