I live in Texas, am going through a divorce, do I qualify to us Cobra?? I was on my wife's medical aid, now I will not have any coverage. Have a small one man business but can't afford medical cover, also have a part-ime job, were do I stand.

Murray

That is tough, you probably are entitled to COBRA on mini COBRA in Texas.

Paying for it on a limited income is another story. Many people are losing their health insurance because of the economy. I wrote an article on reducing your medical costs:

http://www.cobrahealth.com/Cut-HealthCare-Expenses.htm

Since COBRA will be 102% of the total premium for you, consider Hospitalization Only Health Insurance or Catastrophic Health Insurance

oNE THING YOU could do is take a class at school and get the student medical insurance. You just need to be regstered, and it's minimal coverage, but here at our local community college, the student insurance is like $14 per semester!

Notify the health plan adminstrator of your divorce or legal separation with supporting court orders. But you send notification to the plan administrator within 60 days of the date of divorce, or as a former spouse, you will not be entitled to COBRA coverage.

http://www.cobrahealth.com/Divorce.htm

They will give you COBRA unavailability letter with a right to appeal if you do not qualify, in their opinion.

http://cobrahealth.com/Unavailability-Notice.htm

If your wife's income is greater than yours, have you considered having your wife pay for the insurance? You can also ask the court.