HELP! Cobra question

[southernponyboy]

What is the name of your state? Texas

My husband has group health insurance thru his employer that covers him, me and our 8 year old son. A few days ago our son fell and broke his arm. He had to have emergency surgery and two pins were inserted into the bone. These pins are to be removed at a later date. There will be a lot of follow-up care related to this for at least 4 to 6 months and maybe longer.

Right before this happened my husband was actively looking for other employment. I was not concerned about waiting several months for his new health insurance to go into effect as we have no prior conditions or problems. But this new situation changes things. Am I correct in assuming that all 3 of us can continue coverage thru COBRA, or does it apply to the employee only? Also, as I am concerned with the cost of COBRA, how can I find out how much it will cost BEFORE he actually quits his job. At this point we are thinking he may need to stay right where he is for now, but we are trying to make the best decision.

Also, say we continue with COBRA for a few months and his new health insurance goes into effect with all 3 of us. Will this now be considered a pre-existing condition and therefore not be covered by the new group plan? I have been reading on here that if you move from one group plan to another then the pre-existing condition will not apply. But what if we move from COBRA to the new plan? Would it be the same thing?

One more quick question-If all our son's treatment goes well and the arm is completely healed, then a few years down the road something happens and he breaks it again, could this be considered by the insurance company as a pre-existing condition?

Sorry for so many questions but I really need your help right now.

Thanks

 

[cbg]

You will all three be able to continue on COBRA, and as long as there is no gap in coverage between when the old policy starts and the new policy begins, there will not be any pre-existing issues either .* COBRA counts; in fact, that is one of the reasons COBRA was signed into law; to help keep people from being locked into jobs because of pre-existing conditions.

A second break would be a completely separate incident. Pre-ex conditions are ones in which treatment is related to a past history. A second break would have nothing to do with this first one.

The cost of your COBRA will be the cost of the insurance TO THE COMPANY - NOT the cost that you are currently paying - plus an additional two percent. He can ask the company what the cost is, but that will be a dead giveaway that he's about to give his notice. Obviously the cost of the plan will vary wildly with how good the coverage is and where you are located, but just to give you an example, family COBRA cost for my employees is $745 per month. You can count on it most likely being anywhere between $500 and $1000, probably NOT the high end of the scale.

Keep in mind that depending on what company he ends up going to, there may not be any wait at all. Some companies bring their new employees onto the coverage immediately, or after only a month.

* A pre-existing condition must be waived completely if BOTH of the following are true: there was no gap in coverage of more than 62 days between the end of one policy and the beginning of the other, COBRA inclusive, AND the old coverage was in force for a minimum of 12 months. If there was a gap in coverage, all bets are off; if the old coverage was for less than 12 months, they can call a condition pre-ex for the difference; i.e., if coverage was in place for 8 months, they can call a condition pre-ex for four.

 

[CIAA]

southernponyboy,

Just a note:

Cobra will only be available if the employer, for the year 2001, had an average of 20 or more eligible employees on a typical work day; otherwise it would be a small employer group not subject to COBRA.

If this is the case, you should still be able to qualify for what is called "mini-COBRA" which, in Texas, allows you to continue coverage for 6 months.

 

[driftbuster]

my cobra came in at $960 per month and they wanted it paid quarterly. not quite afordable woud be a understatement.