Cobra insurance question.

[Gregg]

My daughter who has been laid off effective April 3rd received this from her employer:

Sarah,
A monthly cost of your BCBS insurance package is $479.67:
- MoniCare monthly contribution was: $335.77(70%)
- Employee monthly contribution was: $143.90 (30%)

When an employment relationship ends, employer must offer COBRA.
Company name has been removed is offering COBRA to Sarah Nelson.
COBRA is a possibility for an employee to retain the same health insurance package so there is no interruption in coverage, but starting the employment end date, an employee is responsible for 100% of the insurance cost. Employee can keep the health insurance plan via COBRA as long as needed.
To help its employees, xxxx offered to cover 70% ($335.77) of April 2020, whereas the employee would cover $143.90 (30%). Please, know that xxxx is doing it to help its employees, as technically the company does not have to cover employee's health insurance after the employment end date. xxxx offered the financial assistance for the month of April 2020, meaning that starting May 1st, 2020 employees would need to cover 100% ($479.67) of it if they chose this health coverage option.
Your overall health insurance coverage options are as follows:

1) Applying for governmental health insurance coverage (I do not these processing time frames)

2) Buying an individual health insurance plan yourself (the process generally takes 3-14 days)
3) COBRA (again, there is no interruption in your health insurance coverage since you keep the same package that you had through MoniCare; the cost of it has been covered above).
Please, research all of your options and let me know. In terms of Blue Cross Blue Shield timelines, I would need to know your answer by 3-27-20.



Does anyone know who pays the Cobra and to who? Does the ex-employer and my daugter then pays her?

My daughter needs insurance, seems like she should take the $479 deal, but I am not sure. She has meds that cost $5 per month with insurance and $1000 per month without!

Your thoughts and opinions are appreciated.

Thank you.

[Andrewski]

My daughter who has been laid off effective April 3rd received this from her employer:

Sarah,
A monthly cost of your BCBS insurance package is $479.67:
- MoniCare monthly contribution was: $335.77(70%)
- Employee monthly contribution was: $143.90 (30%)

When an employment relationship ends, employer must offer COBRA.
Company name has been removed is offering COBRA to Sarah Nelson.
COBRA is a possibility for an employee to retain the same health insurance package so there is no interruption in coverage, but starting the employment end date, an employee is responsible for 100% of the insurance cost. Employee can keep the health insurance plan via COBRA as long as needed.
To help its employees, xxxx offered to cover 70% ($335.77) of April 2020, whereas the employee would cover $143.90 (30%). Please, know that xxxx is doing it to help its employees, as technically the company does not have to cover employee's health insurance after the employment end date. xxxx offered the financial assistance for the month of April 2020, meaning that starting May 1st, 2020 employees would need to cover 100% ($479.67) of it if they chose this health coverage option.
Your overall health insurance coverage options are as follows:

1) Applying for governmental health insurance coverage (I do not these processing time frames)

2) Buying an individual health insurance plan yourself (the process generally takes 3-14 days)
3) COBRA (again, there is no interruption in your health insurance coverage since you keep the same package that you had through MoniCare; the cost of it has been covered above).
Please, research all of your options and let me know. In terms of Blue Cross Blue Shield timelines, I would need to know your answer by 3-27-20.



Does anyone know who pays the Cobra and to who? Does the ex-employer and my daugter then pays her?

My daughter needs insurance, seems like she should take the $479 deal, but I am not sure. She has meds that cost $5 per month with insurance and $1000 per month without!

Your thoughts and opinions are appreciated.

Thank you.

I'm sorry to hear about your daughter's job. To answer some questions:

1. Administrator of the plan (may be the employer, may be a separate administrator) must provide specific COBRA notification and election forms to your daughter. Not just an email. The notification and election forms will indicate how much the premium is, where it goes, and when it must be paid.

2. The company's demand to know a response by 3/27 does not comply with the law. The notification and election forms will lay out the timeframe, but your daughter should have at least 60 days to make her election. And the election can be retroactive (e.g., she elects COBRA on 5/15 and the coverage can go back through April and the end of March). They may be asking for a response by 3/27 for their offer to pay some of the premium, but they can't require a response within days for the COBRA election as a whole.

3. Your daughter pays the COBRA costs, not the company. The company's offer to pay a portion of the costs is not required (I assume there are no strings attached to its offer?).

Signed,

An employment lawyer

[swampdragon]

I am not an employment lawyer (just a guy that has been through this before) and he is correct.

[Ken]

I am not an employment lawyer (just a guy that has been through this before) and he is correct.

did you stay at a Holiday Inn last night?

[heyelander]

did you stay at a Holiday Inn last night?

Yeah .... With your mom!!!

[overkill94]

Sorry to hear about your daughter's predicament but I would think a lot of people will rethink their opinion on Medicare for All after all this.