Applying For COBRA Health Insurance

Yesterday I gave a brief overview of COBRA continuation coverage.  Today, I’ll cover how to go about applying for it.

When separated from your former employer, you should receive a special COBRA election form along with all your other separation paperwork.  If you didn’t, call HR immediately.  This form will vary in format somewhat depending on your insurance company, but they all contain the same basic information including but not limited to

• Maximum continuation period, with a list of exceptions applying to certain qualifying dependents
• Qualification requirements
• The actual itemized monthly cost of COBRA coverage
• Grace periods to remit payment (usually 45 days)
• Contact information for your group health plan including plan name, contact (usually somebody in your former employer’s HR department), and address (often your former employer)

Filling Out Your COBRA Election Form

The first page of your COBRA election form should have been filled out by your employer because you’ll need the plan account number, itemized monthly cost information, and other pieces of data likely known only by your employer.  If this information is blank, you’ll have to call HR (again).  Somewhere on this page should be the line item “Date election for COBRA is due,” which is the deadline for making your COBRA election.  Don’t worry if you forget and the deadline passes because you can always elect COBRA coverage later, but it will be much more of a hassle.

The next page of your COBRA election form will contain instructions and information for you to fill out.  Please read the instructions carefully and follow them exactly.  They should contain important information about billing deadlines and administration fees or billing fees, if any.  On this form, you can usually elect any combination of coverage (medical only, medical plus dental but no vision, etc) and number of people to be covered (just you, you and your spouse, you and your spouse and dependents, etc).  There will then be questions about whether or not you are enrolled under medicare or social security disability.  If so, there are a few other hoops to jump through.  If not, you are pretty much done.  Make sure all applicable fields are filled out, sign your name, and mail it in along with your payment.  Note:  you have 45 days after election COBRA to remit the first payment, so you don’t have to mail it in right then and there if you don’t want.

NB:  If you choose to reject COBRA coverage and have a spouse/dependents, some insurance companies also require your spouse to sign the form indicating they agree with the decision.