What is Cobra Health Insurance? COBRA plans can help you pay the gap until you get a new position at a new company that provides full health care coverage for you and your loved ones. A well-run COBRA plan usually offers a 50% discount to people who join through their employer. The discount rate also applies to your dependents. So if you’re part of a family and the family consists of you, your wife, your mother, father, sisters, brothers, and any children under the age of 25, COBRA plans can save you money on health costs.
If you’re a married couple with two children and two parents, you’re eligible for COBRA health plans with an average annual deductible of nearly $2,000. COBRA plans are flexible, so you’ll take care of the bills without worrying about making a hefty upfront payment. You can get rid of the stress associated with making large medical bills that you won’t be able to repay and the stress of wondering what you’ll do with a big stack of medical bills when you’re not working.
Selection of Plan
When it comes to choosing COBRA plans, the most important thing to consider is how much coverage you need. There’s no point in going with COBRA plans if you’re not sure what coverage will work for you. You can get an idea of what coverage is needed for your needs by looking online or in COBRA literature. You might also want to consider your current health plan’s benefits and compare them to What is Cobra Health Insurance benefits.
COBRA policies generally offer a basic level of healthcare coverage that will cover a wide range of things such as prescriptions, hospital visits, medical equipment, lab work, and office visits. You can’t get all of this coverage through COBRA, however. Many employers offer their employees a comprehensive health care plan, which is a good option if you have a stable income and enough health savings to pay for some of the benefits you’ll need.
Drawbacks
There are some drawbacks to COBRA that you should consider before you sign up for COBRA. One is that you won’t be able to take advantage of any free preventive care available through your current health care plan. This means that you’ll be paying hundreds of dollars more each month for doctor visits, prescription medications, and other benefits for a plan that doesn’t include the preventive care you need.
The other drawback is that COBRA may cause you to lose your eligibility for certain types of group health plans offered through your employer. For example, most health plans allow you to join group dental and vision plans, but your COBRA plan won’t let you join a group health plan covering dental work.
Your employer should approve the COBRA plan you pick. If your employer isn’t offering a group plan, you can check with your HR department. If they don’t have access to a group plan, contact a human resource professional at your employer’s company to find out if you can join one there.
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