Florida residents - If you are currently paying for COBRA health benefits from your previous employer you may be paying too much.  Typically you can purchase individual health insurance for less than what you will pay for COBRA or group health insurance.  The reason for this, group must include everyone, young, old, healthy, sick and it all averages out.  If you are relatively young and healthy you should be able to save money with an individual health plan.

 

For fast free individual health insurance quotes please click on the links on the left side of this page or call 561-741-8849.

 

HOW COBRA COVERAGE WORKS
Example # 1: Debbie  participates in the group health plan maintained by the her company.  Debbie is fired for a reason other than gross misconduct and her health coverage is terminated. Debbie can elect and pay for a maximum of 18 months of coverage by the employer's group health plan at the group rate. 

Example # 2:  Angus has health coverage through his wife's plan sponsored by her employer . Angus loses his health coverage when he and his wife divorce. Angus may purchase health coverage with the plan of his former wife's employer.

Example #3:  Lacy, a medical assistant, left her employer in May 2005 to take a position with another company. She was five months pregnant at the time. The health plan of her new employer has a pre-existing condition clause for maternity benefits. Even though Lacy signs up for the new employer's plan, she has the right to elect and receive coverage under the old plan for COBRA purposes because the new plan limits benefits for preexisting conditions.

COVERED BENEFITS
Qualified beneficiaries must be offered benefits identical to those received immediately before qualifying for continuation coverage.

For example, a beneficiary may have had medical, hospitalization, dental, vision and prescription benefits under single or multiple plans maintained by the employer. Assuming a qualified beneficiary had been covered by three separate health plans of his former employer on the day preceding the qualifying event, that individual has the right to elect to continue coverage in any of the three health plans.

Non-core benefits are vision and dental services, except where they are mandated by law in which case they become core benefits. Core benefits include all other benefits received by a beneficiary immediately before qualifying for COBRA coverage.

If a plan provides both core and non-core benefits, individuals may generally elect either the entire package or just core benefits. Individuals do not have to be given the option to elect just the non-core benefits unless those were the only benefits carried under that particular plan before a qualifying event.