Health Insurance Michigan | individual and group insurance solutions » COBRA Changes http://mymichiganhealth.com Focused Insurance Solutions for Individuals, Families, and Small Business Mon, 21 May 2012 22:53:40 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.2 What is COBRA coverage? http://mymichiganhealth.com/what-is-cobra-coverage/ http://mymichiganhealth.com/what-is-cobra-coverage/#comments Thu, 27 Aug 2009 15:54:31 +0000 Billy Strawter Jr http://mymichiganhealth.com/?p=439
COBRA is an acronym for the federal law, the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1985. It applies to most businesses that have twenty or more employees on an average business day for that company in the prior calendar year. (Some states have similar laws for smaller employers.)

The law is designed to allow eligible employees and/or their covered dependents to continue certain health-related group benefits when coverage is lost for a number of reasons.

Note: The law does not require that COBRA coverage be made available if an employee is terminated for “gross misconduct.”

To see when COBRA coverage is available, see the answer to the question:

What are the Qualifying Events that make one eligible for COBRA?

Depending on the circumstances, the coverage may be kept for up to 18, 29 or36 months (or potentially even for life for certain retirees of bankrupt companies) under federal law; state law may expand benefits in some cases.

For more detailed information on how long COBRA may be kept, see the answer to the question:

How long may I keep COBRA coverage?

]]> http://mymichiganhealth.com/what-is-cobra-coverage/feed/ 2