Health insurance question - cobra or private?

beachgirl1977

I am pg and dh is an independent contractor. He doesn't get any benefits from an employer. I carry full free benefits as a teacher but am due in July. If I take a year off what would be the best way to get insurance for me. Do I do a private plan? Or cobra. I think with FMLA I could be covered until Nov ish. This is confusing but a big weight on my shoulders.

littlemermaid

You should find out how much COBRA would cost you first?  Call HR and they should be able to give you the numbers.  If you go  with COBRA you get to keep your existing plan and benefits.

 

JOEBunny

I would Cobra, if you have decent insurance and it isn't going to be off the charts expensive. (We pay $500 a month through DH's employer and have a $3700 deductable).  If you don't, you might not be covered if you get preg again under many private plans (In Georgia, at least, a lot of them have waiting periods for things like that). 

goodheartedmommy

I'd go ahead and try to figure out if you can price the COBRA, though I know in the past we didn't get a quote until we had left the job. We've paid it before, but it's outrageous. We were paying over $1000/month at one point (quite a bit more, but I don't remember the exact number). 

Just a note--you say "with FMLA I could be covered until Nov ish." Does that mean you're planning on taking your 12 paid weeks of maternity leave? If you do that, they're going to require reimbursement when you do not return to work. Even if you aren't looking for paid leave, and just wanting employer-paid benefits, that's not going to go over well (and even if it works out for you, it may not make the district so keen on rehiring you when you return a year later). You need to go ahead and figure out your plan for when you leave at the end of the school year. Since you'll need maternity benefits, it will be best to carry the COBRA through delivery. After that, it may be a better price to get private insurance. Make sure you factor in deductibles. Since you'll already meet your deductible for the year with your delivery, it may be cheapest to wait until Jan. to switch to a private carrier if that's the cheapest monthly option. Also factor in prescription costs, co-pays, etc. 

LanaM

Technically you could figure out how much cobra would cost you. Ask your HR what % of the premiums you're paying. You'll be paying 100% with COBRA. The last three times that we lost/switched jobs, COBRA letters indicated our payments would be anywhere from 1,300 to 1,700 a month... but it all depends on the plan your employer has.

With private.... I really don't know much other than what I read on here and I remember people were complaining that there were a lot of strict rules that they did not have with their group policies.

Also, if you quit after your maternity leave, you may be responsible for the benefits during the maternity leave, I'd check that carefully. 

capemom

"Just a note--you say "with FMLA I could be covered until Nov ish." Does that mean you're planning on taking your 12 paid weeks of maternity leave? If you do that, they're going to require reimbursement when you do not return to work. Even if you aren't looking for paid leave, and just wanting employer-paid benefits, that's not going to go over well (and even if it works out for you, it may not make the district so keen on rehiring you when you return a year later)."

?

This is not necessarily true. ?I was a teacher and it was specifically written into our contract that we were entitled to our 12 weeks, regardless of whether or not we planned to return. Actually, I had to tell them before my maternity leave that I was not planning to come back, and I was still given 12 paid weeks. ?I would suggest you check your contract and talk to your union rep. ?Your rep may also know the price of COBRA.?