We are not COBRA. For specific contract details about your current company policy, contact your health plan administrator.
I know a lot of people have felt suspicious about trusting their (former) employer to forward their COBRA payment to their insurance company. Usually, the advice they get is along the lines of 'make sure you have proof of mailing and don't worry about it further.'
But I have to worry about it further -- my employer really did cash my COBRA check and then really did neglect to forward it. My insurance cancelled my coverage retroactively. Before I got wind of any of this, my employer switched insurance companies at open enrollment. As you would expect, I had to fill out some forms to get the new insurance. If there were questions about my prior insurance on these forms (I don't remember,) I would have answered them as if my COBRA payment had been made.
What happens if I develop a big ticket medical condition and this new insurance company decides to poke around and see if there is any reason they can use to drop me from the policy? If they found out there was a lapse in coverage, could they drop me? Could they drop me retroactively?
Finally, I have reason to believe that my employer persuaded the first insurance (the one that dropped me) to send THEM my medical bills for the grace period. I am pleasantly surprised that my employer agreed to pay my bills without a fight. But, I still don't want them to have direct access to the bills -- I don't want my former employer to know what treatments I was having!!! When they agreed to pay the bills, it was my understanding the insurance company was going to bill me and then I was going to tell them the amount. I never gave anyone permission to show these bills to my employer and I never would have. I am not sure if the bills are actually in my employer's hands yet. Is there anything I can do to stop this?