What's COBRA? COBRA is a federal law that may allow you to temporarily keep employer or union health coverage after the employment ends or after you lose coverage as a dependent of the covered employee. This is called "continuation coverage."

 

In general, COBRA only applies to employers with 20 or more employees. However, some state laws require insurers covering employers with fewer than 20 employees to let you keep your coverage for a period of time.

In most situations that give you COBRA rights (other than a divorce), you should get a notice from your employer’s benefits administrator or the group health plan telling you your coverage is ending and offering you the right to elect COBRA continuation coverage.

 

This coverage generally is offered for 18 months (or 36 months, in some cases). If you don’t get a notice, but you find out your coverage has ended, or if you get divorced, call the employer’s benefits administrator or the group health plan as soon as possible and ask about your COBRA rights.

 

If you qualify for COBRA because the covered employee either died, lost his/her job, or can now get Medicare, then the employer must tell the plan administrator. Once the plan administer is notified, the plan must let you know you have the right to choose COBRA coverage.

 

However, if you qualify for COBRA because you’ve become divorced or legally separated (court issued separation decree) from the covered employee, or if you were a dependent child or dependent adult child who is no longer a dependent, then you or the covered employee needs to let the plan administrator know about your change in situation within 60 days of the change happening.

 

I have Medicare and COBRA continuation coverage.Who pays first? In general, the rules described on pages 12–15 that apply to group health plan coverage also apply to COBRA continuation coverage. For example, if you or your spouse are 65 or over, retired, and have COBRA continuation coverage, Medicare pays first.

If you have Medicare based on End-Stage Renal Disease (ESRD), COBRA continuation coverage pays first. Medicare pays second to the extent COBRA coverage overlaps the first 30 months of Medicare eligibility or entitlement based on ESRD.

 

Whether and when you should elect COBRA coverage can be a very complicated decision. When you lose employer coverage and you have Medicare, you need to be aware of your COBRA election period, your Part B enrollment period, and your Medigap Open Enrollment Period. These may all have different deadlines that overlap, so be aware that what you decide about one type of coverage (COBRA, Part B, and Medigap) might cause you to lose rights under one of the other types of coverage.

 

Where can I get more information about COBRA?

• Before you elect COBRA coverage, you can talk with your State Health Insurance Assistance Program (SHIP) about Medicare Part B (Medical Insurance) and Medicare Supplementary (Medigap) Insurance. Visit Medicare.gov/contacts, or call 1-800-MEDICARE (1-800-633-4227) to get the phone number. TTY users should call 1-877-486-2048.

• Call your employer’s benefits administrator for questions about your specific COBRA options.

• If you have questions about Medicare and COBRA, call the Benefits Coordination & Recovery Center (BCRC) toll-free at 1-855-798-2627. TTY users should call 1-855-797-2627.

• If your group health plan coverage was from a private employer (not a government employer), visit the Department of Labor at dol.gov, or call 1-866-444-3272.

• If your group health plan coverage was from a state or local government employer, call the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) at 1-877-267-2323, extension 61565.

• If your coverage was with the federal government, visit the Office of Personnel Management at opm.gov.

 

Source of information: www.Medicare.gov