When you are laid off from your job, a number of financial concerns may come up. One of the most important factors to consider is where you will get your health insurance coverage from. Depending on what type of company you work for, you could access COBRA continuation coverage in this situation.
COBRA Basics
When you are laid off, you could gain access to COBRA or the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act. This is a government program that went into effect in 1986 and it helps workers continue to get health insurance coverage when they are laid off from their jobs. With this program, you simply pay the premiums for your health insurance to your employer and then you can continue using your group health insurance plan. This is a temporary form of health insurance coverage that you can use while you are looking for a new job.
COBRA Eligibility
Just because you are laid off from your employer, that does not necessarily mean that you can qualify for COBRA. To qualify for COBRA, you have to work for an employer that has at least 20 employees. The company that you work for also has to offer a group health insurance plan. You must have been enrolled in the group health insurance plan before you were laid off from your job. If you did not have access to the plan while working, you cannot get on it after you are laid off.
Election Notices
When you are laid off, the employer must provide a qualifying event notice to the health insurance plan. This notice has to go to the insurance plan within 30 days of the event. After the qualifying event takes place, the employer has to give you an election notice. This is a document that must be righted within 14 days of the qualifying event notice. This notice provides you with all the details you need to understand COBRA. You then have 60 days to decide if you want to get COBRA coverage.
Length of Coverage
After you elect to get on COBRA health insurance coverage, you can receive benefits for up to 18 months under normal circumstances. If you are hired by another employer and you get on its group insurance plan, you then stop your COBRA coverage. In some cases, you can get another 11 months of COBRA coverage if you become disabled and you are not able to find a job because of your disability. This helps to ease the transition that comes with being unemployed and disabled.
