COBRA cancellation

[The Blue Flower]

I lost my insurance coverage when I was laid off in October, and I began making COBRA payments in November. I just received notice that my COBRA has been cancelled because my employer no longer is participating in the program. I didn't know that could happen. I am paying my own way, so why would that make a difference? Does anyone have any experience with this?

[brooklynite]

1. COBRA is essentially piggybacking...

on an existing corporate/institutional insurance plan at the same rates they pay. If your former employer has CHANGED plans (as opposed to dumping employee insurance completely) you may be able to demand access to the new insurance plan.

[theboss]

2. Call H/R at your old employer and find out if they swtiched plans

If they did, you can probably get coverage through the new plan. Do it quickly though.

[flaminbats]

3. after all else fails, try for the Continuation policy..

it varies from state to state whether or not employers are required to offer their new policy to former employees covered by the last one.

[gardenista]

4. This happened to us, too. Call your old employer.

It took us weeks to get it straightened out. Sorry you're going through this.

[InvisibleBallots]

5. you got screwed, nothing you can do about it either

Something very similar happened to me. They cancelled part of my COBRA without telling me, and I got on the hook for $4,000 worth of medical expenses because they didn't bother to tell me. Good luck.

[soothsayer]

6. COBRA's so darn expensive! Can you just get your own?

Or do you have some pre-existing conditions that would make it too $$$$ or something?

[high density]

8. I think everything is expensive when it comes to health insurance :)

I was unemployed and paid $70/mo for health "insurance" with a $15,000 deductible. I recently got a mindless part time job and through my employer's plan I'll be able to pay around $110/mo for a $1500 yearly deductible. Not a wonderful deal, but $1500 is much easier to come up with if something happens to me.

[soothsayer]

10. yeah, but I've seen plans where you can pay like 170 or 180

(blue cross/blue shield) and get a 1500 or 2500 deductible. Or you could pay alot more and get a much smaller deductible, too.

[Princess Turandot]

7. When you say 'program' do you mean that your ex-employer

no longer offers health insurance? That is I believe the only way they would not be required to offer COBRA participation to former employees (unless they now have less than 20 employees.) COBRA is a law, not a program. Did you get the letter from the insurance company you were using previously or from your employer? Is it possible that they changed insurance companies?

I would contact the HR department where you worked, or if they were using a third party company to handle COBRA benefits, which many companie do, call them to find out what is going on.

Here's a link to the COBRA FAQ on the DOL webpage:
http://www.dol.gov/ebsa/faqs/faq_consumer_cobra.html

If your former employer no longer has a "group" health insurance plan, you could contact the existing insurance company to find out if you can convert from the group plan to an individual contract. That's what I did after my last job's COBRA ran out. My costs didn't rise that much but I had to convert from a PPO to an HMO. If you need to look into getting your own plan, the insurance department of your state may have info on plan complaints, resolutions, costs etc.

[bobbieinok]

9. I was on COBRA after retiring....3 months .... and then got letter that

the month I become 65 I MUST switch to Medicare......apparently if you are not working and reach 65 the law requires that your only choice is Medicare.......I'm in the midst of doing this change-over, but it would have been very nice to know about this law.....I thought I would have 18 months to get oriented, etc.....

[soothsayer]

11. you can still get supplemental health insurance in addition to

medicare, but medicare is your primary one. But don't do cobra---too expensive

[zann725]

12. COBRA's a government plan, I thought. Doesn't matter if your employer

no longer carries THEIR plan. You still get to keep coverage with the Insurance Co. you had with them. (Your monthly policy amount may change, but legally you're entitled to COBRA for at least 18 months after you leave an employer, right?) Sounds like either your employer and/or their Insurance Co. are counting on you NOT knowing your rights.

I'd do some web searching on COBRA, to find the regulations. Your state unemployment office might know.