Ask MetaFilter posts tagged with cobra

Dropping Spouse on COBRA coverage?

mmangano — Mon, 18 Aug 2008 13:41:07 -0800

COBRA (health) question: If I currently have health coverage through my employer for Employee(me) and Spouse, can I COBRA for Single only or do I have to keep it at Employee/Spouse? Checked with HR and the ONE person that can answer is on vaca! ugh!

Private Health Insurance Questions

mahamandarava — Sat, 28 Jun 2008 18:56:44 -0800

Are some health insurance companies better than others? Due to my partner quitting his job, we are now looking for new coverage. Although COBRA will presumably an option, I anticipate it will be fairly expensive, so I've been looking at various cheap private plans out there. Although my partner and I are reasonably healthy people, we've had various minor fractures, illnesses, and procedures between us. I'm well aware that there are at least some health insurance companies will reject applicants for the most of minor of prior health issues (for example, I was rejected by Blue Cross 3 years ago for genital warts that ocurred over 5 years ago). I'm wary of ommitting health details in the application, however, because of the health insruance companies' other favorite habit of recission. So with this in mind, I have a couple questions:

1. Are some health insurance companies less picky than others about prior health conditions/accidents than others?

2. Are some health companies less likely to try to retroactively cancel your policy than others?

3. Do I have a chance applying for Blue Cross again, now that over 5 years have passed since I was (successfully) treated for the condition they rejected me for a few years ago?

Thanks a lot. This is in northern California, BTW.

Where's Riki-tiki-tavi when you need him?

bingo — Mon, 02 Jun 2008 19:48:18 -0800

My former employer is telling me to make my COBRA payments directly to them (the employer). That doesn't seem right to me. Is this common/legal/legitimate? Can I circumvent them and just pay the insurance company directly?

Cobra termination

TigerCrane — Fri, 18 Apr 2008 09:41:22 -0800

I missed a Cobra Payment and they terminated me. How can I appeal their decision? I screwed up, got confused and missed a COBRA payment. They have terminated me as of Feb 29. They tell me that I can write an appeal letter. This will take fourteen days. Can anybody give me some advise as to what to say int the appeal letter?

If it makes a difference, I have bipolar disorder, and have recieved disability. I believe I am still officially disabled.

If I cannot get COBRA back, do I have any other options? My pre-existing condition (bipolar disorder) makes it impossible to buy regular insurance. Now that I have been cancelled due to non-payment, I no longer qualify for HIPAA. What are my options?

Job loss and FMLA

tickettrader — Mon, 10 Mar 2008 22:00:59 -0800

My job is scheduled for termination at the end of the month. My wife is pregnant and could possibly be placed on bedrest about the same time. If I apply for FMLA before my termination date, would my employer have to honor my claim? My employer is unaware of the pregnancy AND I'm only speculating that bedrest could be ordered. Why do I care? If I don't find a new job within the company before my termination date, I'm looking at an additional $900/month in COBRA payments for the 12 weeks of FMLA.

Additional Information:

US Dept of Labor Site

I barely know my boss and he works at a different location.

It is a very large US corporation.

My entire department is being shut down so my job loss is not due to my personal performance - at least I hope.

COBRA vs. out-of-pocket group insurance?

ahimsa — Mon, 14 Jan 2008 16:40:36 -0800

I left my prior job in December and was hired by a temp agency. The agency offers an out-of-pocket health insurance plan. Does this mean I can't opt to continue my old coverage with COBRA instead? Does the fact that my temp agency offers a basic health insurance group plan, though they don't put any money toward it, mean that I am not eligible for COBRA?

The CORBA information my old company sent me says:
"Continued coverage will end for an electing individual on the occurance of any of the following:...
* The date on which the electing individual becomes covered under any other group health plan (as long as the new plan contains no restrictions on coverage for pre-existing conditions which affect the electing individual) after COBRA is elected;"

and
"Under COBRA, your right to continuation of coverage terminates if you become covered by another employer's group plan that does not limit or exclude coverage for your pre-existing conditions."

and on the form:
"Please answer the following questions:
Are you covered under another health plan? YES NO"

I'd prefer to opt for COBRA rather than the health insurance through my temp agency, because (1) I think the plan is better and (2) I think I'd have a gap in coverage because there was a week between the two jobs.

But does the availability of this out-of-pocket group insurance mean I'm no longer eligible for COBRA? Or do I need to buy a month's worth of COBRA coverage to close the gap and also get the new employer's oop insurance plan from then on?

Thanks in advance!!

Is COBRA worth it? Or is there are hidden trap?

foxy_hedgehog — Mon, 10 Dec 2007 10:39:57 -0800

Hello battle-scarred health insurance vets. Here's a COBRA question for you to ponder. I left my job in early November. My application with the Freelancers' Union to be eligible to enroll in their plans has been approved. In the time between the former and the latter, I had to see my primary care physician and refill a bunch of prescriptions. There's still time for me to elect to have COBRA coverage for the time since I left my job, but should I? Would that lead to the dreaded "gap in coverage"? The COBRA coverage for the month after my resignation would be almost $700. If the out of pocket fee for the prescriptions and the doctor visit is less than the cost of a month on COBRA, why bother? I'm asking because I keep hearing murmurs about something called a "gap in coverage" which could affect my attempt to enroll in the Freelancers' Union health plans. I should add here that I have all kinds of pre-existing conditions and was hit by a car in June, so I'm an insurance company's nightmare.

I would greatly appreciate any insight on the best way to handle this and saving the most money without screwing myself.

Should I keep COBRA or try another health insurance provider if I'm moving to a new state and staying freelance?

waxpancake — Sat, 01 Dec 2007 16:28:55 -0800

I recently left my job at Yahoo! in Northern California and am relocating to Portland, Oregon to try my hand at self-employment. Extending my existing medical coverage with COBRA will cost me, my wife, and our three-year-old son $1200/month, which seems absolutely insane. Please help me understand the risks or consequences of waiving COBRA and getting new a new insurance plan. Continuing my Aetna PPO option through COBRA will cost me more than double every other quote listed on eHealthInsurance in Oregon for our family, even for those plans that appear to be comparable. (My existing plan has a $750 annual deductible, $2,750 maximum out-of-pocket, and $15 co-pay for office visits and preventive care with no deductible.)

What's so great about COBRA that it costs more than double everything else? Am I going to screwed with some sort of pre-existing condition nonsense by not continuing coverage from my previous employer? What are the risks by giving up COBRA? Plus, will I even be able to use COBRA if I'm moving from California to Oregon? (Aetna doesn't appear to offer individual coverage in Oregon, so is every doctor out-of-network?)

And finally, is there anything I should look out for when buying through eHealthInsurance? If anyone has specific recommendations for Oregon providers, that would be wonderful.

Travelers Insurance vs. COBRA

picklebird — Wed, 14 Nov 2007 15:31:22 -0800

Can you buy travelers/vacation insurance for a domestic (within the US) trip? Is it dangerous to have traveler's insurance and not traditional health insurance for one month? We leave our jobs November 30. We will be spending the month of December, unemployed, staying at the family vacation house in Vermont. We will be skiing and other potentially dangerous activities. We begin working in Montreal January 1. We could get COBRA coverage from work to the tune of $850. I was wondering if we could just buy a month's worth of travelers insurance instead (with sufficient health/medical coverage). It would save us a good deal of money. Is there something I'm missing?

Is COBRA of use to me?

Anonymous — Mon, 21 Aug 2006 19:38:10 -0800

I'm about to be divorced with no insurance. I have insurance right now through my wife. In other words, I'm on her insurance through her company. Of course, the divorce will change that.

My question is in regards to COBRA. Is is anything that I can use? Or, since it's not my policy, is it of no good to me, in which case I need to go ahead and find a personal policy.

I guess, thought I've read a lot, I still don't have a good grip on COBRA. Thanks in advance.

COBRA across state lines

jimmy0x52 — Mon, 24 Jul 2006 08:57:28 -0800

COBRAFilter: I'm quitting Thursday and moving out of state. Can I still use COBRA? COBRA allows you to keep your health plan(s) - but - most insurance is in a specific state. I.e. when I move to Texas from Arizona, can I still get COBRA that works in Texas or am I SOL?

My company currently resides in FL and I work in AZ as a contractor for a client so I know that they had to find difference insurance for me in AZ than the FL people.

Help me fix-up my Mustang Cobra.

matkline — Mon, 10 Jul 2006 12:13:29 -0800

Tell me what I should be doing to fix-up my inherited 1994 Mustang Cobra. It runs quite well to have 184,000 miles on it, but does have some problems (leaks oil, ABS light is on, rips in seats, etc.). I know very little about car maintenance, but I was wondering if I could do anything (prefereably inexspensive) useful to it anyway.

Pictures Here

Insurance flawed?

Sinner — Thu, 15 Jun 2006 19:33:15 -0800

If the (small) company I work for goes bankrupt, am I still eligible for COBRA, or is COBRA predicated on the continued existence of the company? I live in California.

Last minute COBRA

jclovebrew — Thu, 16 Mar 2006 09:34:14 -0800

Last minute COBRA coverage. A what-if scenario.. Let's say you're out of a job and are eligible for COBRA to continue your health insurance. As I understand it, the coverage is retroactive back until your original insurance ended. So if you wait, say, 3 months before signing up, you would have to "backpay" all three months.

So would the following be valid and legal:
Do not sign up for COBRA. Pay for doctor and/or medication out of pocket. If something really bad was to happen, where the bills amount to the thousands or tens of thousands of dollars, only then fill out the paperwork and pay for all the months in between, in order to have the recent "something really bad" event get covered.

Some other details/assumptions -
- There's a deadline to how long you can wait before signing on for COBRA. I think it's 2-3 months. So there's a fixed time-frame here.
- The assumption is that I'll be back in a new job with health benefits in 2-3 months time.
- The extent of my medical bills is about $15-30/month for an asthma inhaler, so it's hard to justify paying a hefty sum of money in order to effecitvely get a small discount on my inhaler.

You would think that COBRA and/or the insurance carriers would have safe-guards against people doing exactly what I describe. So does anybody have a good understanding of this and can explain to me why this may or may not be a really bad idea.

How can I find health coverage for my family?

jasonlatshaw — Thu, 10 Nov 2005 21:21:15 -0800

I was laid off. COBRA is running out. How do I best acquire new health care coverage for my family when my wife is in much needed therapy and taking expensive medication? I was laid off from my previous job in September of 2004, and have continued my medical coverage by paying out of pocket using COBRA ($973/month rising to $1200 in January. .. ouch). It runs out in March of 2006, and I'm working to get new medical insurance in place. My real concern is that my wife is undergoing vital mental therapy and taking prescription medication while working through a diagnosed disorder. I am fearful that no new plan will cover this, as they will term it a "pre-existing condition," and we cannot afford the costs of the treatments out of pocket. I am currently working freelance and doing well enough to not want to get a corporate job unless I have to. Plus I'm hopefully getting into a Graduate School at UCLA, starting in September of 2006. I called my current provider today and they told me once COBRA runs out it's over, no extensions are possible with them as an individual. So I now know I have to go to another health plan provider. Does anyone know what my options are?

Help me better understand COBRA and HIPAA

weston — Thu, 27 Oct 2005 23:43:41 -0800

COBRA/HIPAA: Help me understand how these health insurance laws might apply in several employer-leaving or life-changing events. (1) Someone I know was recently fired due to mental health issues. They did affect job performance, and weirded some coworkers out, and also led to some behavior that could be considered mild sexual harrasment. As far as I know, the weirding people out and somewhat inadequate performance were the only official reasons given for firing. Is he eligible for COBRA?

(2) Someone else I know is considering leaving their employer. My understanding is that if they leave voluntarily, they're eligible for COBRA if they apply within 30 days. Are there any pitfalls here, other than bearing the full cost of the group premium? And, in order to help control premium costs, does COBRA coverage allow for adjusting deductibles and limits?

(3) Another person has private insurance, has been diagnosed with cancer, and wants to move back with family in another state -- where their current insurer does not provide. Obviously the cancer makes her largely uninsurable. Does HIPAA do anything to help?

Question number 13819

pieoverdone — Mon, 10 Jan 2005 03:21:55 -0800

My COBRA runs out tomorrow. I've applied to a private carrier and was declined already. I was under the impression that if there wasn't a 63 day gap in coverage, they had to insure me. [mi]

Question number 13355

hindmost — Sun, 26 Dec 2004 17:15:34 -0800

Insurance continuation question: You are laid off of work and go onto COBRA insurance. You get hired for another job that comes with health coverage and start work on the 4th of the month. If you do not pay your COBRA payment for that month, do you have a lapse in coverage for 4 days? I have tried googling but the fact that the original company is a Delaware corporation which operates in California is confounding my ability to detangle the mess, especially as the deadline for COBRA payments for a given month is on the 5th of the month.

Question number 13168

Anonymous — Sun, 19 Dec 2004 18:09:27 -0800

I am in search of supplemental mental health insurance (in the US). Does such a thing exist? I'm a full-time grad student about to lose my awesome COBRA benefits from my past job. I'm going on to my husband's plan, which has crappy mental health coverage (only 20 therapist visits a year vs. 45 with my last insurance). I need weekly visits, but there's no way to change the plan. I've googled for supplemental health insurance, but I mostly get sites for those on Medicare. I've checked several major insurance companies, but none have any specifics about their mental health coverage. Has anyone else dealt with this situation? Perhaps someone who works in the insurance industry can point me in the right direction?

Question number 10587

mookieproof — Thu, 30 Sep 2004 12:30:59 -0800

Catastrophic health insurance (in the US): I've just been laid off and am losing health care benefits. The COBRA premiums are insane--I'm looking for something cheap that will cover near-death experiences. (I will turn to the bottle for any minor ailments.) Anyone have any advice or plan suggestions?

Question number 3869

konolia — Sat, 13 Dec 2003 10:45:31 -0800

When my insurance (COBRA) ends in March, what can I do? Private insurance is prohibitively expensive, and chances are with my preexisting health problems I may not be able to get insurance at all. Worst part is my monthly prescriptions are extremely expensive-we are talking the price of a car payment here, if not more.
Any suggestions, besides moving to Canada?