If it were me I would advise my employer in writing before my last employment date that I would like to continue your COBRA coverage.
Your COBRA coverage can be set up so that there is no break in coverage. Advising an employer in writing about taking COBRA gives them the chance to notify the insurance company right away.
Basically you should be covered and able to go to the doctor. You might want to check with the health insurer to see if your ID number will change.
Not necessarily true
Your employer must notify the insurance company that you are now a COBRA eligible participant. Somewhere in the contract the insurance company has xx number of days to get you now as a COBRA participant back into the system. I have an employee that as part of his hiring packet we are paying his COBRA until he is eligible for our plan. The day he received his documents, I Fed-X'd overnight his election form and payment. A week and a half later he goes to fill an RX, no coverage. I call the insurance company, "no record" I call the COBRA management company. The management company sent it to the insurance company the same day but by contract the insurance company in this case BCBS had 7-10 business days to reinstate the participant, retro to their election date.
Actually by law it is your employers responsibility to prove that they gave you the cobra papers. If you don't get it by your last day then they are usually cert. mailed to you. Most employers have the cobra paperwork on the last day. You are to sign that you do or do not wish to continue.......
It's not that easy to just turn off health insurance...... You should call a rep and ask what their perticular plan calls for regarding cobra
If they are smart they never ever use certified mail. The employer does not have to prove you got the documents, they must prove that they sent them to you in a timely fashion - the US Postal Service is considered accurate by the courts and thus all an employer needs is a proof of mailing. Certified Mail actually carrys too much liability.
This is a very broad statement......most employers I have come across use a 3rd party administrator for their COBRA and it can easily take 2 weeks or more before paperwork is received.
And it is as easy as a click of the mouse to turn off health insurance. (Granted if your policy is a through the end of the month of separation it would still be in effect until then)
By Federal Law, your former company or their representative has 15 days to process your COBRA election forms. You then have 45 days to elect said coverage - total of 60 days. You can elect your coverage on the day you receive the documents and are not required to send in payment until the date specified in your election documents. If you opt to do this, make sure that you get that payment in on time and paid in full. The insurance company must begin the process of reinstating you regardless of payment status according to their contract terms. However, if you do not make that payment, they will then cancel your coverage and you will be liable for the bill to any providers that the insurance company may have paid on your behalf.
To answer your original question.
If you opt to elect your COBRA coverage your insurance will be reinstated retro to your cancel date. Note, during the election process it is possible that your claims will be denied because theoretically your coverage was cancelled and until all parties are updated it is assumed you do not have coverage. If this occurs, you can request that all bills be resubmitted.
As my new employee learned, he paid out of pocket for a hefty RX and once he is reinstated he will submit the receipt for processing.
If you are fired for gross negligence, like unemployment it is possible that COBRA can be denied. I have never seen it done, no one really wants that kind of risk.
COBRA is a former employee not employer friendly law. It is the responsibility of the employer to know, implement and follow the law. The employee has lots of leeway in how they elect, when they elect, how they pay and when they pay (to a point) Contact the HR or the adminisitrator with any specific questions you may have.
