COBRA Insurance Options

[HLAuburn]

DH has been offered a new job, but if we decide to take it, the new company only offers health insurance after 30 days of employment. I know we have the option to pay the full cost through COBRA for the same coverage we have now, but for 4 of us, I imagine it's a lot!

Are there options that would allow us to get one month of coverage, something like a hospitalization policy only, in case of emergency? I don't even know where I would start or who to contact.

Thanks!

 

[DMickey28]

I am most likely WRONG but I *thought* that since you have a decent window to elect Cobra you can ride out the 30 days and if you NEED it you can get it but otherwise get through the month first.

Again, I am probably wrong because that doesn't make much logical sense but I swear when I looked into it that was the case. You can take advantage of it if you find yourself in a situation where you need it but if you don't ... you don't have to take it at the start of the month, just in case.

***** Probably wrong information but look into it closely ******

 

[My2Cinderellas]

we were in this position a few years ago - DH ended a job March 31st so his insurance ended at the end of the month on March 31st. He started the new job April 3rd and insurance starts the first of the month after you are hired. Most people switch in the middle of a month so coverage is continuous - we didn't even think about it.

I believe you have up to 90 days to enroll in Cobra - if you choose to wait to sign up you do have to back pay the entire amount. We chose to ride it out, squeezed in all appointments, prescription refills etc that we could at the end of March. NOthing major happened before the new insurance kicked in so we never got the Cobra coverage. I did have to fill a prescription, and didn't realize how expensive it was - I was able just to buy the 10 days I needed instead of the entire month. It was still $68 for those 10 pills, but better than $200.

 

[kaytieeldr]

You would likely run into a problem with any preexisting conditions if you don't have continuing coverage. Can you manage just the one month of COBRA?

 

[golfgal]

You have 60 days to enroll in COBRA AFTER you get your notification of coverage options and then another 60 days to send in your payment. It is set up this way on purpose for the exact case the OP is talking about. If you don't use the COBRA inbetween your old insurance and new insurance you don't pay anything. If you need to go to the doctor, weigh the cost of the appointment to the cost of the premium and maybe pay out of pocket for the visit. Fill all your meds on the old insurance before it expires. You do NOT have a gap in coverage as long as you secure coverage within 63 days.

Yes, there are very inexpensive gap plans you can get if you want. It won't cost much (here it would be in the $60/pricerange for a family for a month). They don't cover preexisting conditions so if something came up with that you would have to pay out of pocket.

If you decided to play the float with COBRA and end up needing it, just send in the payment the next day and you are fine. Again, it is DESIGNED to work like this--nothing illegal about it.

 

[quentina]

DH has been offered a new job, but if we decide to take it, the new company only offers health insurance after 30 days of employment. I know we have the option to pay the full cost through COBRA for the same coverage we have now, but for 4 of us, I imagine it's a lot!

Are there options that would allow us to get one month of coverage, something like a hospitalization policy only, in case of emergency? I don't even know where I would start or who to contact.

Thanks!

You can back date it if it is needed. I would have paperwork ready if a quick fax is required. I believe you have 30 days....look into your state laws.

 

[Binnie]

golfgal is absolutely correct. You have 60 days to elect, and it is ALWAYS retroactive to the date that you lost the coverage.

You can, completely legitimately, not elect the COBRA unless you need it during your 30 day transition. If you need it, all you have to do is pay for the coverage. (You would have to pay it back to the date of lost coverage, but if you didn't need it, you wouldn't have to pay.)

(I'm in HR and have done benefits administration for years at this point, for what it's worth.)

 

[Robinrs]

He got the job?? Awesome! Congratulations!

 

[HLAuburn]

He got the job?? Awesome! Congratulations!

LOL, yes! Thanks! He got the offer this morning, so now I have all the new "problems" changing jobs and moving and such!

Thank you all for the help. So basically, we can choose to not accept (or deny) COBRA, and for the 30 days we are without coverage, if something major happens, we can retroactively get coverage by just paying the COBRA? Obviously it would just be for something serious, like a hospital stay, but I don't want to take the chance of not having any coverage.

Thanks again for all the help!

 

[phorsenuf]

We just went through this ourselves. Because we pay our insurance in advance our coverage with the old company ended March 1st. We only needed to wait 30 days for the new insurance so the coverage at his new job started March 1st. You might want to check if you pay for the upcoming month at your old job.

Hope that made sense......