Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act (COBRA) is a health law benefit that started in 1986. Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) provides an individual the right to continue health coverage that would otherwise be terminated. Cobra health insurance is temporary continuation of your health plans. This is designed for retirees, former employees, former spouses, dependent children and spouses. This is only available to individuals when their coverage is lost due to certain or specific events. COBRA insurance is usually more expensive because unlike active employees the employer pays some part of the insurance premium while COBRA members pay the entire amount of premium themselves. However it is less expensive than individual health plans.
In order to qualify for Cobra Health Insurance you must follow the following:
For employers: Notify the plan administrator any qualifying event 30 days after employees’ termination, reduces in hours of employment or Medicare entitlement and employees death.
For Qualified Beneficiaries: Notify the plan administrator any qualifying event 60 days after legal separation or divorce.
For Plan Participants: An election code must be sent not later than 14 days after the administrator received the notice of the qualifying event. Qualifying events are situations where an individual loses his or her health coverage. Depending on the type of event, this will determine the qualified beneficiaries and the length of plan coverage.
Nowadays health plan becomes a household necessity for most Americans. Due to rising medical expenses COBRA is established to help individuals retain their medical benefits. Cobra Health Insurance is being administered by local agencies like the Department of Labor and the Treasury, United States Public Health Services, United States Department of Labor Pension and Welfare Benefits Administration, Internal Revenue Service and United States Public Health Service. They all work together to help individual take advantage of this continuation health coverage law.
By: Hillary Scott Wallace
Posts Tagged ‘Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act’
Cobra Health Insurance – Get Real Truth
March 23rd, 2010Cheaper Health Insurance — Sundry Saving Tips
March 17th, 2010
You can get cheaper health insurance that won’t hurt you down the road if you know the right steps to take. I’ll share different tips that will help you cut down your cost massively in this article…
1. You’ll pay less for health insurance if you join a PPO or Preferred Provider Organization. It is more expensive than an HMO and also offers more choices.
It is up to you to check the value you will get with what you will save to choose if it will serve you better than traditional health insurance. If saving is the priority, you’ll actually make more savings by joining a PPO instead of buying normal health insurance.
2. If you want a discount, buy your health insurance policy from the same insurer you bought your other policies from. it’s called a multi-policy discount.
On the other hand, the total amount you may save may still pale into significance if compared with savings you’ll make by getting your policies from different insurers.
3. You can lower your costs by using free clinics. These are good opportunities for you to get professional medical advice and have routine check up. Clinics like these are normally rendered as community service.
4. If in your case it’s hard to locate a regular health insurance carrier due to an unfavorable medical history you can make use of COBRA insurance. By the way COBRA is the abbreviation for Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1985.
5. A good number of policies impose unreasonable limits. The highest amount an insurer will pay out if a policyholder develops a catastrophic health condition is worth considering. Shop for a better insure and do not just settle for it if you consider what they have as their limits are unreasonable.
Also make sure that you check that the maximum you will be required to pay for treatments within a year is fine with you. Like in the previous case, start shopping for a better health insurance company if it is not good enough.
6. The most vital route to massive savings in health insurance is comparison shopping — Given that you do it right. You can get quotes that will have a range in excess of $1,000. You could conveniently save so much by simply choosing the lowest quote. That should apply if you’re simply after the lowest price.
Howbeit, if you want the best value to price ratio then you would have to look at the details of the cheapest quotes. Different insurance companies may have different exclusions for similar policies. It’s a good idea to ask the agent what’s part of the deal and what’s not.
By: Chimezirim Chinecherem Odimba
Health Insurance Over 50 And Under 65
January 29th, 2010
If you are between the ages of 50 and 65 and you are going to be looking for health insurance or are looking for health insurance you need some help. This is a tough age (of course what age isn’t starting with the terrible twos) because you are at a prime age to start developing health problems. Statistically speaking and statistics is the only language insurance companies speak, the insurance company can predict they are going to spend more on 50-65 year old than a 20-45 year old. For that reason premiums are much higher for the older person.
But, we Baby Boomers are a smart group and where there is a will, there is a way. So let’s look at some of the options:
If you currently have a job and are looking to retire or start your own business, you have a couple of avenues you can investigate. First you can inquire if your company will let you buy health insurance through the company plan. If your company will let you do this your employer (assuming we are talking early retirement) may subsidize part of your premiums. If not, you still get group rates which are a whole lot cheaper than individual rates. If you are married and your spouse is still working strongly consider adding yourself to his/her plan if that option is available to you.
The next option (if you currently have a job which provides health insurance) is COBRA or Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act. COBRA lets former employees and their dependents continue their employer’s group coverage for up to 18 months. The best thing about COBRA is it is guaranteed. Your former employer’s insurer can’t turn you down even if you have a chronic medical condition. The worst thing about COBRA is the cost. Your employer generally covers 70% or more of your health insurance premium. With COBRA you have to pay the whole premium plus administrative costs. Industry surveys indicate based on an average premium (for 2007), a former employee would have to pay more than $373 a month for individual coverage and more than $1,008 a month for family coverage.
If you are not currently employed by a company who provides health insurance there are still choices for you. If you have pre-existing conditions such as diabetes or high blood pressure you can receive coverage through a state high-risk health program designed to help those with medical conditions that prevent them from getting insurance. Again though like COBRA the premiums can be quite high.
You can also check out professional organizations you could join or are already affiliated with to see if they offer health insurance policies for members. Because these are group plans, the premiums may be less than what you would pay in the individual market.
Finally, there is the individual health insurance option. There has been some progress in terms of offerings of policies for the 50-65 year age group market mainly because insurers see this age group as a potential growth market. Many Baby Boomers are in good health and have higher income than younger people. Also insurance companies hope that retirees will still purchase their products, such as supplemental insurance, even after they’re eligible for Medicare. Some of policies currently offered may have premiums as low as $200 per month for people who are in good health and willing to pay a high deductible. Many insurance advice columnists recommend combining a high deductible individual health insurance policy with a health savings account. HSA contributions are made with pretax dollars, and any money left over in the account at the end of the year is rolled over for future use. Withdrawals are not taxed if used for qualified medical expenses.
By: Marilyn Katz
