You are eligible for COBRA if you had coverage in your employer's health plan on the day of a qualifying event (e.g., you lost coverage). You should receive a notice from your employer explaining your COBRA rights. Be sure to contact your employer if you have questions.

If your family was enrolled in your employer's health plan on the day of the qualifying event, they are eligible to continue coverage.

Yes, if you lost coverage and are no longer enrolled in your ex-spouse's plan, you may be eligible to continue coverage through COBRA.

If you are under age 65 and were enrolled in coverage before you retired you will be offered COBRA for 18 months. Tip: As an alternative to COBRA, the individual exchanges can offer a broader array of available options that might help you buy more or less expensive insurance based on your anticipated medical needs.

Your employer is required to offer COBRA coverage if they offer an employer-sponsored health insurance plan and employ at least 20 employees. Government employees do not qualify for COBRA. They are protected under a different law.

In most cases you are a Qualified Beneficiary if you were participating in your employer's health plan and you lost your coverage. However, COBRA extends to your spouse and dependents as well. For example, you could choose to accept coverage under COBRA for just yourself or for your family. You can also choose to forego COBRA for yourself and just cover your spouse or dependent children.

Generally, a qualifying event is something that affects your employment status. The chart below outlines the circumstances under which you or a covered dependent may opt to continue your health insurance coverage through COBRA:

Qualifying Events for COBRA
Employee	If you leave your job voluntarily; this includes retirement If your work hours are reduced so that you are no longer eligible for health benefits under your employer's policy If you leave your job involuntarily for any reason other than gross misconduct
Employee's Spouse	If the employee's work hours are reduced If the employee leaves the job for any reason other than gross misconduct If the employee becomes entitled to Medicare Divorce or legal separation Death of the employee
Dependent Children	If the employee's work hours are reduced If the employee leaves the job for any reason other than gross misconduct If the child loses dependent child status under the employer sponsored health plan's rules If the employee becomes entitled to Medicare Divorce or legal separation Death of the employee

No. A qualifying event is something that affects your employment status (i.e., job loss or significant reduction in hours). Events that affect only the insurance plan are not qualifying events.

You have 60 days to elect COBRA after your last day of employment (starting at the later of the day you lost coverage or the date you are provided with your COBRA election notice). Importantly, you do not need to elect COBRA coverage immediately, you have 60 days to make the election and your election will be retroactive.

No. each of the qualified beneficiaries may independently elect COBRA coverage. That means if both you and your spouse are entitled to elect continuation coverage you may decide separately whether to elect continuation coverage.

Employers may require employees electing COBRA to pay the full cost of the insurance plus a 2% administrative charge. Since employers usually pay a portion of the insurance cost this can seem like a significant price increase. Additionally, the coverage employees receive is based on Group coverage which may be somewhat more expensive than individual insurance.

COBRA is derived from the bill that created the continuation coverage, Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act. Passed in 1986 this bill requires continuation coverage be offered to covered employees, their spouses, former spouses, and dependent children when group health coverage is lost due to certain, qualified events.

In most states the standard is 18 months however some people are eligible for up to an additional 18 months. This term can be shortened if:

• you do not pay your premiums on a timely basis
• your employer stops maintaining a group health plan
• you obtain coverage with another employer
• a beneficiary becomes entitled to Medicare benefits

No. You can elect to keep any, all or none of the plans in which you were enrolled.

No. If you switch plans you will effectively start a new with your new plan, which means you will have to start building towards a new deductible.

Yes. Since you are continuing coverage your deductible and any costs that you have already applied to it will carry over.

If you have already elected COBRA continuation and have paid for coverage you cannot transition to individual coverage until the open enrollment period. In order to switch coverage during the Special Enrollment Period you must have a qualifying event and voluntary termination of COBRA insurance is not considered a qualifying event.

Yes. Involuntary loss of coverage is considered a qualifying life event (QLE) which makes you eligible to enroll outside of the annual enrollment period. Under special enrollment you could elect to enroll in your spouse's plan or enroll in marketplace coverage. To take advantage of the special enrollment period you must enroll within 30 days of the loss of coverage.

Yes. In certain circumstances it may be advantageous to you to continue with you existing coverage - for example if you are in the middle of an episode of care (e.g., cancer treatment) and you don't want to change your provider. Other items that you should consider in evaluating which option is best include: the provider network offered (is your existing doctor in it?), hospitals, and particular drugs that may not be covered under certain insurance programs.