When do I need to sign up for COBRA? sm

I turned in my notice on 6/28 and quit two weeks later.  I have received my last paycheck, reimbursement for PTO, a letter saying someone will be calling for an exit survey, and even my shipping labels to return my computer, etc. but have yet to receive any information about COBRA and I want to sign up!  It is now almost the end of the month and I'm worried that I have to get my money in by the first of the month.  Does anyone know?  I don't want to get stuck with a pre-existing condition problem.

Thanks!

• When do I need to sign up for COBRA? sm - Anon
  • It will come to you in the mail. (sm) - Me
    • Thank you! sm - Anon
      • I think it's actually 90 days - sm - Old Broad

The messages you are viewing are archived/old.
To view latest messages and participate in discussions, select the boards given in left menu

My husband and I are on cobra right now.  For two of us with dental it's costing us $821 per month thru Aetna.

I have been covered by COBRA since September 2007 with dental coverage.  I just received my new card today and I do not have dental, and my last dental appointment and treatment are not being paid.  Can they do this?  Drop coverage that I already have.  To top it off they are charging me $20.00 more a month. 

My husband is covered under AARP; however, I cannot get on his insurance even though I will be 50 in one month due to being overweight.  They say I have to lose at least 70 pounds. 

Does anyone know of an insurance company that would insure me for less than what I am paying COBRA?

Divorce is considered a "qualifying event" and would entitle you to 18 months (or 36 months in certain cases) of coverage through COBRA where you would pay the premium.  You can make an inquiry to the human resources department at his employer if there are children involved and the rate is the same for him to cover himself, the kids and you, and in that event, you would continue to have coverage without invoking COBRA.  The best thing is to read the policy and direct any questions to HR.

good luck

   The following speaks of my personal experience with Cobra - Insurance premiums out-of-pocket for any reason are an expensive undertaking (they are also tax deductible if you meet deduction requirements).  I was appreciative of having the option of Cobra because of my personal circumstances.  If you are considering going without health insurance for any amount of time, I would suggest that you may be gambling with more than your health.  One emergency surgery or health crisis not covered can cost you everything - I know because it happened to me.  Hospitals and physicians are bound by no debt code - they will sue you and take your home, business, car, pots, pans and the shirt off your back if they can redeem a penny for it.  They are not required to accept a payment plan.  My hospital told me that an indefinite payment offered by me to start of $100 every 2 weeks to start was not worth their time and effort.  A bit of trivia - I was employed by this same hospital for 10+ years.

COBRA guidelines are set by the Fed - all rules must be followed to the letter by all parties.  My premium was 120% of what my original premium while employed with the company was.  I went the entire 18 months during which my premium was raised once - without warning - if you fail to pay the premium exact to the penny, by the exact postmarked indicated date, you are terminated from the plan.  I was nearly terminated with the premium increase which arrived in a separate envelope along with the premium notice.  There are no exceptions to the rules governing Cobra - this works sometimes in your favor and sometimes in the ex-employer's favor.   After the first premium increase, I called 1 time each month on the same day and asked if there was a premium increase -  the point being don't take anything at face value when dealing with this issue.

        These guidelines also direct what happens when your Cobra involvement ends or if you terminate it before the 18 months are finished - there are also exclusions which may make the amount of Cobra coverage available longer than 18 months.  The day your Cobra ends, you have a set number of days to get involved with another plan - if you choose Cobra, make sure someone explains what happens when the plan ends, and if you are told "nothing" or "you are on your own," ask someone else who knows that they are talking about.

      If you choose Cobra, you need to speak to whomever administers the plan - some companies hire a third party, others do not.  Make sure you get all the facts.  

      There are obvious negatives but one thing is an absolute positive, if you meet all the guidelines each month and pay the correct premium on time, you will have continuation of your health coverage and time to plan for the future.  My research led me to understand that I might find a cheaper interim plan, but I might just as easily lose that plan for any number of reasons, leaving me high and dry.  I personally could not risk this.  I saw an earlier comment about not letting coverage lapse and preexisting conditions - If there is a plan anywhere which does not have a preexisting clause of some type for every new enrollee, I would be very surprised.  I talked to about 14 carriers over 6 months.  Not having a lapse in coverage or not exceeding the cushion of days provided by Cobra between policies is most beneficial, I feel, when you are applying for new coverage on your own - Companies are much more receptive to someone who has existing coverage as opposed to someone without, for obvious reasons.  However, this varies from ins co to ins so and you need to do your homework.

    One last thing, I cannot speak for every state, but I called our State Insurance Commish - wonderful lady whose staff went way out of the way to make sure I was fully clear on what my Cobra rights were. These people were totally on my side! I highly recommend this phone call to anyone trying to get health insurance.  The state is not allowed to recommend an insurance co; however, they do have ratings and data that you may find very helpful in choosing coverage.

I spent many, many hours learning about and personally experiencing this process - I hope you find something helpful here.  Whatever happens, I wish you the best of luck! 

I'm reading a new plan that my company is probably going to switch to.  I just hired on and was going to sign up for COBRA so I wouldn't have a lapse in coverage for my pre-existing conditions etc.  Here is what this new plan says "This exclusion period may be reduced by the number of days of your prior creditable coverage.  The plan is not required to take into account any days of creditable coverage that precede a break in coverage of 63 days or more." 

So, can you please interpret what this is telling me?  If I get insurance from my new company prior to 63 days after the end of my previous insurance are my pre-existing conditions covered?  I was on insurance from the previous company for close to two years.

Thanks!!!

everything I post. I'll admit I've gone anonymous a few times, but it is rare. I'm just not going to do it. I stand behind anything I say - if it's wrong, then I made a mistake, I wasn't trying to hornswoggle anybody.

It is easy to see the culprit behind these MTs who can't make any money. You hear people talking about "platforms" and searching for demographics, etc. That's the problem.

I work for somebody for whom I am a source of income, not a cost center. The faster I am, the more we both make.

I do use my Expanders - a lot - and I've used the same shortcuts for years. But the main thing is that I work in Word without worrying about how some unit secretary is going to pull up the report I just typed. The company I work for isn't there to make sure the consultant on 4E can see the work quickly without shuffling papers. They're there to produce a fast and accurate medical record - period.

That other stuff is for the hospital to worry with, and the hospital I work for has some kind of system where my Word documents go in their system in batches. I wouldn't pretend to know what that is, LOL, but I'm not crippling along on a program that was designed for everybody but ME, and that's what happens at these big companies. They have to have a selling point, and that seems to be it.

"Here, let us do your transcription. Here's how it works. The MT types your report, it goes into the chart electronically. And the stuff is all there for the data miners, too, so everybody can like us!" This was true for Dictaphone, Lanier, everybody. They all had to have an angle for everybody in the hospital and the MT was left sucking hind teat, as we say out in the country.

Been there and done that and would only go back if I had absolutely no other choice. As much as I love this profession, I couldn't figure out why people gripe about not making money so much - and then I went to work for a national and found out real quick.  

I don't know what they are charging you but I talked to several before I went with Trinity Debt Management whose name was given to me by my church and they were the cheapest.  But I still ended up filing a Chapter 13 because of a divorce that cost me so much I could not pay the bills.  But I did start with them and they were very nice.  It cost $50 to start the program but their monthly maintenace fees were way cheaper than the other major ones I talked with.  Some wanted as much as $100 to $150 per month to manage my account that was a payment to a bill.  But I chose the Chapter 13 repayment program and pay $300 a month for three years to the courts and they pay it out and the balances are then wiped clear.  I only had to pay partial attorney fees, mainly filing fees, the rest was put into the monthly fee.  I still feel bad but at least am paying something.  But there is nothing you can do when you go from two paychecks to one and doesn't feel the bills are his responsibility.  Good luck.  Just thought I would mention them.

Patti

They will probably hee and haw and not sign a contract or they put in whereas for "cause they can terminate the service immediately" or with 15 to 30 days notice they can terminate the service without cause.  So with or without a contract they will terminate her services when they find someone else if that is what they are doing.   Who knows I could be wrong and will probably get my goose cooked for working now for 15 years without contracts and have to eat my words.   Time will tell. 

Have you ever seen this dictated as part of HEENT exam on history and physical exam.

I received this from my sister, please pass it on. It is very important. It may not be LEGAL, but it is important... just click on the link, then click on the sign petition...let's make our voices heard on this issue...please also pass it on...

Mastectomy Bill in Congress:
It takes 2 seconds to do this and is very important...please take
the time and do it really quick!

Breast Cancer Hospitalization Bill - Important legislation for all
women.

Please send this to everyone in your address book. If there was ever
a time when our voices and choices should be heard, this is one of those
times. If you are receiving this it's because I think you will take the
30 seconds to go and vote on this issue and send it on to others you know
who will do the same.

There's a bill called the Breast Cancer Patient Protection Act which
will require insurance companies to cover a minimum 48-hour hospital
stay for patients undergoing a mastectomy. It's about eliminating the
"drive-through mastectomy" where women are forced to go home hours after
surgery against the wishes of their doctor, still groggy from anesthesia
and sometimes with drainage tubes still attached.

Lifetime Television has put this bill on their web page with a
petition drive to show your support. Last year over half the House
signed on.

PLEASE!! Sign the petition by clicking on the web site below. You
need not give more than your name and zip code number.
 http://www.lifetimetv.com/health/breast_mastectomy_pledge.html