What
Happens to My Insurance if I Lose
My Job?
If you have had health coverage as an
employee benefit and you leave your
job, voluntarily or otherwise, one of
your first concerns will be maintaining
protection against the costs of health
care. You can do this in one of several
ways:
-
First,
you should know that under a federal
law (the Consolidated Omnibus
Budget Reconciliation Act of 1985,
commonly known as COBRA), group
health plans sponsored by employers
with 20 or more employees are
required to offer continued coverage
for you and your dependents for
18 months after you leave your
job. (Under the same law, following
an employee’s death or divorce,
the worker’s family has
the right to continue coverage
for up to three years.) If you
wish to continue your group coverage
under this option, you must notify
your employer within 60 days.
You must also pay the entire premium,
up to 102 percent of the cost
of the coverage.
read: FAQs About
COBRA
-
If
COBRA does not apply in your case—perhaps
because you work for an employer
with fewer than 20 employees—you
may be able to convert your
group policy to individual coverage.
The advantage of that option is
that you may not have to pass
a medical exam, although an exclusion
based on a preexisting condition
may apply, depending on your medical
history and your insurance history.
-
If
COBRA doesn’t apply and
converting your group coverage
is not for you, then, if you are
healthy, not yet eligible for
Medicare, and expect to take another
job, you might consider
an interim or short-term policy.
These policies provide medical
insurance for people with a short-term
need, such as those temporarily
between jobs or those making the
transition between college and
a job. These policies, typically
written for two to six months
and renewable once, cover hospitalization,
intensive care, and surgical and
doctors’ care provided in
the hospital, as well as expenses
for related services performed
outside the hospital, such as
X-rays or laboratory tests.
-
Another
possibility is obtaining coverage
through an association. Many trade
and professional associations
offer their members health coverage—often
HMOs—as well as basic hospital-surgical
policies and disability and long-term
care insurance. If you are self-employed,
you may find association membership
an attractive route.
-
Yet another possibility for some
individuals is obtaining coverage
through an insurance purchasing
pool or risk pool (sometimes called
a high-risk pool). Many states
have established risk pools so
that otherwise medically uninsurable
individuals (those with preexisting
health problems) can purchase
health insurance at an affordable
price. (Typically, premiums for
risk-pool-based coverage are higher
than for comparable health insurance
purchased from a commercial company.)
Free
Health Insurance Quote for
Short-Term Insurance!
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