ideas of how cobra works?

[mistysue]

DH is a contract worker, he was supposed to be up at the end of August, and I just found out today that our insurance stops at the end of May! On the phone today the woman said that we would get forms allowing us to sign up for Cobra the 2nd or 3rd week of June and those forms would tell us the cost.

Does anybody know if there is a formula for the cost or something? I'm in Michigan.

Just to top this off, the reason I called in the first place is that we had a baby 6 weeks ago and we filled out and sent in the forms to add him to the insurance... well,his employer has him added as his dependent in their records, but just decided not to add him to the insurance even though we turned those forms in! Of course this is the baby who had a one week NICU stay and who we've already had to buy multiple medications for! When the insurance doesn't cover a med, you have 10 days to get the insurance to pay the pharmacy before you lose the discount... so even if/when we get reimbursed we can't ever get the full amount back! Now the insurance wants a letter explaining why we didn't add him and they aren't required to actually add him at all, so he might be ineligible for our insurance even though WE did everything we were supposed to. This could cost us tens of thousands of dollars!

 

[meriface11]

it's not really a formula for COBRA...you pay the employer's cost to cover your policy (not the employee contribution), plus a 2% administrative fee

 

[mistysue]

well, that sucks. I was afraid of that. Our policy costs more than unemployment pays.

 

[rhiansmom]

Exactly you pay 100% up to 102% of the cost the plan.


As far as not adding dependent.... you need to start looking into that. Is the boss that didn't do anything the big boss or is there an HR department you can contact? what about a guideline number or something?

 

[NYEmomma]

Just to top this off, the reason I called in the first place is that we had a baby 6 weeks ago and we filled out and sent in the forms to add him to the insurance... well,his employer has him added as his dependent in their records, but just decided not to add him to the insurance even though we turned those forms in! Of course this is the baby who had a one week NICU stay and who we've already had to buy multiple medications for! When the insurance doesn't cover a med, you have 10 days to get the insurance to pay the pharmacy before you lose the discount... so even if/when we get reimbursed we can't ever get the full amount back! Now the insurance wants a letter explaining why we didn't add him and they aren't required to actually add him at all, so he might be ineligible for our insurance even though WE did everything we were supposed to. This could cost us tens of thousands of dollars!

You need to get on this ASAP... this is major, major, major stuff. If you're covered by insurance and you submitted the appropriate forms & documentation then he HAS to be added to insurance. If you don't get on the company's case RIGHT NOW, it's going to be a lot harder to get it all corrected & get his old bills paid down the road. Knock heads, kick butt, don't take no for an answer.

I worked in HR and it was several years ago so I don't remember specifics about plans, but I remember how shockingly expensive COBRA was. Our highest level plan, for a family of 3+ was something like $900 per month on COBRA.

Good luck!!

 

[cvjw]

I wouldn't be surprised if your Cobra bill was over $1000 per month. I have heard lots of families quote that number lately, after a job loss.

 

[mjkacmom]

All I remember about Cobra is how expensive it is. Whenever I gave birth, DH would call our insurance company from the hospital, to add the new child to our insurance (one of the first phone calls, actually). Good luck!

 

[fauna74]

As others have said, COBRA allows you to continue with your employer's health plan by paying the employer's premiums.

It is often very expensive. I was on it more than 15 years ago and it was about $300 a month just for me.

The one thing I want to point out is that if you elect to do COBRA then it would be the same exact plan you were on when you were employed. When I was on it, the insurance company tried to tell me that I suddenly had a new deductible because I was on COBRA. Luckily I had worked in HR and I knew that was BS. I told them as much, and they backed down and said "oh, yeah- you're right".

Congrats on the new baby and best of luck!! It sounds like you've got some red tape to get thru and some tough decisions to make.

 

[twinsplusone]

DH was laid off again and we chose not to use COBRA. It would have cost $1300 and $1400 with dental coverage. I did research and found short term health ins with a huge deductible for $200 a month. It only would cover catastrophic illness/accident. I figured if we all (5 of us) went to the doctor twice a month and had to get a prescription, we'd be ahead. Luckily, we only needed it for a month, since dh got a new job within 6 weeks. Good luck. Insurance is a financial killer.

 

[homedad]

you have 60 days to sign up for cobra and u can retro the policy back to first day eligible if you sign up within your time frame. Also is the cobra is too much look into short term medical, it won't cover day to day stuff, mainly coverage if you break a leg or appendix burst, etc. Its less money and may tide you over. Call a local agent, you pay the same price as going direct to a insurance company plus they can give options availible. Good luck.

 

[beckybowler]

It is true what everyone else said about Cobra being expensive. You do have to cover 100% of the employer cost (plus possibly 2% administraive cost-but that is discretionary).

Also to note, did you add the new baby within 30 days of the birth? That is what is required from what I have seen. 30 days from a qualifying event. Usually, the baby is covered under the mother during their birth and initial hospital visit.

 

[momxx5]

Cobra = you pay 100% of the cost of insurance that your company pays.

However.....there was, and still may be a program in place. One of the Obama programs that discounts cobra payments for 15 months to 30% of the cost. The remaining 3 months is at 100%.

Also, there is time before you need to decide. If you or anyone in your family has reg health problems then you will need Cobra. One of the things about insurance...when getting a new job most companies will insure you if you show no lapse in coverage. Thus you pay cobra to show continous coverage.

We had to do this so I would still be able to be insured.

There is a time frame that you do not need to be insured.....something like 60 days or something. You'll have to look at it further.

FYI, our 30% was around $500 and then our 100% was close to $1,700/month. It sucked.

Anyway, find out as much as you can. Your DH's human resource dept should be able to help you and they should be very nice about it.
Good luck.

 

[momxx5]

So sorry....I just did a quick check. It appears the Obama help is over.

http://www.palmbeachpost.com/health/sticker-shock-returns-for-uninsured-jobless-as-cobra-736472.html

 

[TinkGirl28]

I agree with what the other posters have stated. Cobra requires you to pay 100% of the insurance premium, but you receive the exact same coverage as you had before. I live in Virginia and unfortunately was denied coverage for an individual health plan because of pre-existing conditions, so had no choice but to get Cobra. I currently pay $510.41 per month for just myself, however, it will be going up to $545.00. I hope you get things worked out soon and don't have to pay a fortune. Being layed off stinks and unemployment definitely doesn't even come close to being enough. Best of luck to you.

 

[veraletta]

We live in Ohio and my husband started a new job in Jan. Our insurance wasn't going to start until after 30 days, so we had to sign up to cobra it was $900 a month.

 

[mistysue]

I spent a couple hours on the phone today with his HR department... they really are infuriating. These same people took a year and a half to enroll him in the employer matched retirement contribution... they lost the forms 4 times!
They acknowledge that they were notified. They just didn't add him. They said that yes they have all the information and the forms there, but they won't do anything until I send them again. I faxed them over and then waited until they confirmed they had it again. The girl on the phone will be sure it is left for the correct person to process. I guess I will call again tomorrow.

I can be added to the insurance at my work it's just inconvenient, so life will be a bit less fun for a while. The policy we have is a dream come true for young families- having a baby was free, we have no deductible, $20 sick copays and $5 prescriptions. I'm just scared about the baby not being added because he has reflux which is causing apnea episodes so he has a monitor and extra doctor visits. We didn't even ask what the monitor costs because we knew the insurance would cover it.

 

[disprincessatheart]

I got laid off in the fall and had carried the insurance at my job. Cobra for 3 of us was going to be over $1400 a month but we had a REALLY good plan. We had the option to switch to DHs insurance instead so we did.

In the past when I switched jobs I was able to get blue cross blue shield for $200 a month for me, so look into private options, and check on free state run options for the kids too!

 

[pixiewings71]

Cobra for JUST ME was $700 a month.....it's insanely expensive!!!!

I went with state coverage for the girls and I lived without insurance for 10 months...I know that's not an option for everyone but I am healthy enough (minus the high blood pressure, but that pretty much went away when I stopped working the super stressful job I had lol) to go without it for a while. I just started working again and my medical should start up after 30 days, so sometime next month.

OP don't sit on the ins. thing for your baby, that's serious stuff!!! Good luck!

 

[NHWX]

Your employer's insurance is probably cheaper than cobra. If you need just one portion of your dh's insurance, say vision, then you can opt to get just that. And if you have a gap between his and your's, you could also get coverage via cobra. If you need to sign-up now at work, then have your dh get a quote broken down by type (medical, dental, etc.) and by person (just him, the two of you, family) so that you can figure the numbers.

Hope your baby is better soon!

NHWX

 

[NYEmomma]

I spent a couple hours on the phone today with his HR department... they really are infuriating. These same people took a year and a half to enroll him in the employer matched retirement contribution... they lost the forms 4 times!
They acknowledge that they were notified. They just didn't add him. They said that yes they have all the information and the forms there, but they won't do anything until I send them again. I faxed them over and then waited until they confirmed they had it again. The girl on the phone will be sure it is left for the correct person to process. I guess I will call again tomorrow.

I can be added to the insurance at my work it's just inconvenient, so life will be a bit less fun for a while. The policy we have is a dream come true for young families- having a baby was free, we have no deductible, $20 sick copays and $5 prescriptions. I'm just scared about the baby not being added because he has reflux which is causing apnea episodes so he has a monitor and extra doctor visits. We didn't even ask what the monitor costs because we knew the insurance would cover it.

I'm glad you got a hold of your DH's insurance and got things straightened out with your LO. I don't *think* you should have to worry at all about your LO's reflux problems because his insurance coverage will be retroactive to the date of his birth. He can't have anything pre-existing because HE didn't even exist before his coverage started, kwim?

Make sure they make it retroactive back to the date of his birth so that all of his hospital bills are covered. My DD was born on 12/31 and it was a disaster trying to get her insurance right... it was like no one understood the concept of her being born on the last day of the year. They tried to put her coverage effective 1/1, which left us on the hook for her hospital bills on the first day.

I agree with the PP that said it would be better to get on insurance through your work. The coverage might not be as good and it might be a pain in the butt to get everything switched over, but it'll be FAR cheaper than paying for COBRA.