Insurance and FMLA

[Dash8Driver]

What is the name of your state? NC

I am about to switch jobs and our family insurance is currently with my current employer. My wife is having some tests and such done on her neck. I am curious how cobra or new insurance with my new job covers this. I think I will have to take FMLA, and my company does qualify as well as do I for FMLA, for my wifes surgery/biopsy.

I need to know how this works when we switch over to my new insurance and if we can use cobra for the 60 days it takes for my insurance to kick in. Also I have given my notice that my last day would be March 24th, what effect will that have on my ability to take FMLA for 7 or 10 days while my wife recovers. The FMLA time would be this month and I would come back for a the last few days of FEB and work the rest of my time in MAR up to the 24th.

Note to others, if you can have insurance through both places of work, DO IT, we wouldn't have this problem if we had taken out the insurance plan with my wifes job as well.

Thanks for the help!

D8D

 

[cbg]

COBRA was signed into law specifically to cover you when you switch jobs, so of course you can use it for the 60 days before your new insurance kicks in.

If you, your employer and your wife's condition all qualify for FMLA and you comply with the notice requirements (i.e. requesting it and turning in the medical confirmation within th 15 days required) they have to allow you to take it whether you've given notice or not. They aren't required to be happy about it.

I do not necessarily agree that having insurance at both places of work is going to be valuable in many cases.

 

[Dash8Driver]

COBRA was signed into law specifically to cover you when you switch jobs, so of course you can use it for the 60 days before your new insurance kicks in.

If you, your employer and your wife's condition all qualify for FMLA and you comply with the notice requirements (i.e. requesting it and turning in the medical confirmation within th 15 days required) they have to allow you to take it whether you've given notice or not. They aren't required to be happy about it.

I do not necessarily agree that having insurance at both places of work is going to be valuable in many cases.

Awesome! Thank you very much. Just to clarify a point, does the cobra cover a pre existing condition? I think all of the tests and getting everything done is going to take longer than the time I have left with my current employer.

Just to educate me, why do you say not having insurance at both places would not be beneficial?

Thanks again.

D8D

 

[cbg]

COBRA is a continuation of the insurance you are currently covered on, so pre-ex doesn't apply. It's not a new policy per se, it's simply continuing coverage on your existing policy at your own expense.

Whether or not having insurance at both places of work is beneficial, depends on what you want it to do. If it works out financially due to premium costs for you that you be covered on your insurance, and she be covered on hers, and neither of you is listed as the other's dependent, there's no problem with that. Nor is it an issue if one policy has better coverage than the other. For example, Mr. CBG's coverage has much better prescription coverage than mine, so since he takes several expensive medications, it makes sense for him to take his insurance rather than be covered on mine.

However, if you (and I mean the general you, not you Dash) sign up both of you on both policies and are looking for the second policy to pick up any balances that the first policy doesn't cover, most people will find it doesn't work that way. Examples:

Your coverage will be primary coverage for you and secondary for your wife. Her coverage will be primary for her and secondary for you. That's a given, no matter what policies you have. You do not have the option of deciding otherwise.

The primary policy will pay first, whatever coverage is available under the terms of the policy. For the sake of argument, let's say there's a bill for $100 and the primary policy pays $80.

The secondary policy, upon receiving the bill, will look to see what they would have paid IF they were the primary carrier. Then they'll pay the difference. So if they would have paid the entire hundred, they'll pay $20. If they would have paid $90, they'll pay $10. But if they would have paid $80, or less, they'll pay nothing at all. Meanwhile, you've still been paying the premiums for both policies.

I'm not making any judgements as to whether you are right or wrong about your specific situation. You haven't provided enough information to say. You might be right that in your circumstances, you'd have been better off with both policies. I don't know. I'm just saying that your statement that ANYONE would be better off with both polices, is too broad to be accurate.