Does anyone know about COBRA?

lexiarein · October 2012

DH just got a job offer for a new company. The pay is what he wanted, but they can't give us insurance for 90 days. I'm 14 weeks today, and I'm really worried about being without insurance. DH says we can get COBRA, and the new company will pay 50% I don't really understand what COBRA is or how it works. Would the cost be the same as out of pocket?

2moms2b · October 2012

My one experience with Cobra was when I switched jobs and had a similar situation. My understanding is by enabling Cobra I keep the same coverage as I had on my other insurance but the total cost is my responsibility. For example with my employer I was paying around $400 monthly and when I went to Cobra I had to pay about $1000 for three months out of pocket to my coverage. Then when my new insurance kicked in from my new employer I cancelled Cobra and was back to having it taken out of my paycheck.

What I would do is find out how much your husband's company pays of his benefits, add that to what you pay and see with the 50% reimbursement if you are about even. My honest recommendation is pay out of pocket for cobra as it will still be cheaper than paying out of pocket for maternity expenses. Plus if you loose coverage your husband's new benefits may not cover as well due to lapse in benefits and pre-existing clauses.

StarBe · October 2012

normally with COBRA you are paying the full cost for your insurance though your husbands current employer. (not future employer)

ex. say your husband pays $100.00 per pay period for insurance and his current company is paying $500.00 per pay period for you to have that insurance. You would now need to pay $600.00 per pay period for the insurance coverage.

You then would have your regular deductible or copay expenses depending on the plan.

Hope this example above helps - basically you would receive your exact/current insurance but at the full cost that his company currently helps pay for. If the future employer pays 50% of the COBRA that would be amazing! GL!

montie99 · October 2012

2moms2b:
My one experience with Cobra was when I switched jobs and had a similar situation. My understanding is by enabling Cobra I keep the same coverage as I had on my other insurance but the total cost is my responsibility. For example with my employer I was paying around $400 monthly and when I went to Cobra I had to pay about $1000 for three months out of pocket to my coverage. Then when my new insurance kicked in from my new employer I cancelled Cobra and was back to having it taken out of my paycheck.
What I would do is find out how much your husband's company pays of his benefits, add that to what you pay and see with the 50% reimbursement if you are about even. My honest recommendation is pay out of pocket for cobra as it will still be cheaper than paying out of pocket for maternity expenses. Plus if you loose coverage your husband's new benefits may not cover as well due to lapse in benefits and pre-existing clauses.

This

bunnybun4 · October 2012

I was in a similar situation about 3 years ago when I switched jobs, however at that time i was single and NOT pregnant. With my job I was paying prob. around 100 a month for my insurance...I called and checked on the cobra for the 3 months I would be out of insurance and it was going to be around 500 a month for me to go on cobra. I just stocked up on all of the meds I needed and hoped for the best...thankfully all was fine and I made it until my new insurance kicked in.

that being said...if I was pregnant I would DEFINITELY go on cobra...there are all kinds of instances where you may need extra or emergency care...not too mention just routine pre-natal care.

i think it is TERRIBLE when companies make you wait 90 days...

lexiarein · October 2012

Thanks everybody! This information helps me a lot. I'm going to have DH look into what his current company pays for his insurance. He will still probably be there for at least a month still, but that's right before my 20-week ultrasound. So we'll have to be on COBRA for that.

abelch2 · October 2012

COBRA! Getting it on your own would be super expensive, at this time. The new company paying 50% is awesome!

brittnytucker · October 2012

I would talk to your doctor's billing department about it as well and see what they suggest. My husband and I had to switch plans through his employer, and while we were waiting for our reenrollment period to start my doc just kept a file of everything and filed it after the new insurance kicked in. She said tha OB/GYNs are usually able to be more flexible with this, because she knows I am going to be a regular patient for the next six months or so. It wouldn't help with any emergency care, but it still may be worth talking with them about.

Anne Mommy · October 2012

I don't know if there is any insurance through you. It might be cheaper for a little bit. Change in spousal coverage is a life event change so you can enroll even if it isn't the regular enrollement time. You can change back if his coverage is better when that kicks in.

If you can't get insurance through your employeer or you aren't working, I would got for the COBRA and talk o your OB. They might hold your claims and they might not. They will at least judge your "needed" tests a little differently.

Does anyone know about COBRA?

Re: Does anyone know about COBRA?

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