Cobra Health Message Board

Subject: Re: Employer avoiding COBRA

Comments:
: First: My employer did not inform me of right to cobra until two months after termination. I had to push them into performance. In September BC/BS finally got me covered retro back July. : Second: Employer changed insurance carrier and didn't inform me. I paid Cobraserv premiums thru November for BC/BS coverage. I called Cobraserv because I didn't receive December invoice. Was told Cobraserv contract and BC/BS were terminated. I emailed employer. True, they switched coverage to United Healthcare. I told employer I received no notice of change. Employer sent me a UHC enrollment form and contracted again with Cobraserv. I sent them payment for December. Cobraserv applied my December payment to cover November then billed me for December 2008 and January 2009 at the BC/BS premium rate rather than the UHC premium rate. I also discovered that Cobraserv refund my employer the $717.00 I paid for November. I pay premiums and refunds should be sent to me. That's why Cobraserv applied my December payment to November. So I have to pay twice for the Month of December. I have had no insurance benefits since 10/31/08 however I have paid premiums thru the month of January 2009. : Third: Here we go again. I found out today when an employee called to wish me a happy new year that employer has terminated United Healthcare and went back to BC/BS effective January 1, 2009. Again, employer has not informed me of a change. : : My employer move its employees into the insurance plan of another company for two months then moved those employees into a corporation created by a merger. My COBRA benefits are being provided by a company that I have never worked for and that company is for sale. : Q: I beleive my employer intends to leave me with a company where I never employed. That company terminated COBRA saying that I was never their employee. Their was no merger of the two companies. Therefore, they are not required to provide COBRA. Can my employer do that? Can the company I never worked for drop me? If the company holding my COBRA benefit sells to another company sells to another company is the new company obligated to continue COBRA for a person that was never employed by the selling company? : I beleive my employer is attempting to lower premium cost by not informing carriers that my wife has cancer. By not allowing me to enroll employer avoids disclosure of health information that determines premium cost. It appears my employer wants to get rid of me.

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