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An introduction to COBRA for employees and their families, covering what the 1985 federal law does and which events allow coverage to continue. Explains how it bridges the gap until new health coverage begins.
COBRA is a 1985 federal law that lets workers and their families temporarily continue their employer-sponsored health insurance after a qualifying event such as job loss or a reduction in hours. It bridges the gap until new coverage begins.
COBRA – the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act – is a federal law passed by the U.S. Congress in 1985. It allows workers and their families to temporarily continue employer-sponsored health insurance coverage after a qualifying event like job loss or a reduction in work hours. It essentially provides a bridge to help individuals find new health coverage before that coverage takes effect.
Other than dropping coverage, a COBRA participant may only change COBRA coverage in two situations:
The COBRA/Retiree Template is available to all employers for reporting the enrollment information of non-employee participants. Once the template is complete, it is ready to be uploaded.
Renewal starts with a survey email, followed by a COBRA Renewal Form unless one of the exceptions below applies.
Note: The survey is still required even if you do not yet have your plan and rate information – the online survey does not ask specific questions about plans or premiums.
Important: Renewal survey emails are sent to the three primary Client Contacts for the group. If you or your broker did not receive one, contact Client Support to have the Client Contacts updated and the survey email resent.
COBRA, the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act, is a federal law passed by the U.S. Congress in 1985 that allows workers and their families to temporarily continue their employer-sponsored health insurance coverage after a qualifying event like job loss or a reduction in work hours. It essentially provides a bridge to help individuals find new health coverage before it takes effect.
Other than dropping coverage, the only times a COBRA participant may make changes to their COBRA coverage are during the annual open enrollment period, or if the employer adds a new coverage option for similarly situated active employees through a special enrollment period.
Yes. A qualified beneficiary who was enrolled in Medicare before becoming eligible for COBRA can still elect COBRA coverage.
Not if you have a Technology Partner such as Employee Navigator or EASE Central, or if you use the self-service utility in the COBRA Employer Portal. With a Technology Partner you only need to advise us when the renewal information has been updated in the partner's database and we will pull the information from there; otherwise, the COBRA Renewal Form must be completed.
Yes. The survey must still be completed, and the renewal form is still required. To avoid completing the renewal form, sign in to your employer portal and update the rates manually.