COBRA continuation coverage can end for various reasons. You stop paying the huge premiums, the time limit expires, or your employer stops offering health coverage.
Medical bills can quickly add up after COBRA expiries. If you already have a group health plan, read the SPD or summary plan description to verify what procedures are included. If so, try and plan surgeries and other covered procedures in beginning of your COBRA enrollment, so that your checkups, complications, and post visits are covered. You do not want to find out after the fact that a certain surgery had a $5000 deductible or was not covered under the group health plan.
When your COBRA health insurance coverage ends
Get a part-time job with an employer that offers health benefits to part-time employees.
Starting your own business and begin a health plan, although an expensive option.
Check your local chamber of commerce to see if they offer group coverage.
Inquire at your current health plan about a HIPAA or conversion policy.
Do not miss the deadline for signing up for HIPAA or conversion coverage.
You might be eligible for Medicaid, income requirements vary among states.
the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) is available in every state and provides free or low-cost insurance coverage for children in families with incomes up to $44,100 a year for a family of four.
Consider a high-deductible or catastrophic health insurance which has lower premiums
COBRA and HIPPA
HIPPA (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996)
is a Federal law that bars insurance companies from considering your pre existing condition, if you becomes eligible under another group plan. HIPPA only applies to group health plans.
HIPAA doesn't apply to someone who previously had no health coverage at all and then gets into a group health plan through a new job. So if you had no previous insurance, got ill, then landed a new job with insurance, your new health plan would not have to immediately cover your pre existing condition. You might have to sit out a preexisting condition waiting period, a period that could be longer than your illness and in the meantime pay for your visits yourself.
If you previously were on a group health plan with no lapse in coverage (over 62 days), you can get a certificate of creditable coverage that you take to your new employer's plan administrator that should offset most waiting periods, 6 months is maximum.
If you plan on converting your COBRA health plan to a private health insurance plan, check with your insurance company to see if they would accept your pre existing condition and still pay for your related medications and procedures.
Pre-existing conditions and Health insurance alternatives
If you are in California, You might qualify for Medi-Cal, a program designed to cover the uninsured. Even if you are not in California, there are many other state high risk pools that accept people without insurance.
If your state does not have a high risk pool, or you cannot afford the high premiums, organizations such as Catholic Charities and Lutheran Social Service often have reduced cost services available.
Craig Casey is an Writer, Coach, Blogger, Husband, and Former Health Insurance Agent helping people on the web since 1999 with their health insurance problems.
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