Quote:
Originally Posted by ImaCheesehead
I read something in passing the other day and am looking for some easy to understand info from someone who is familiar with how it works. Is California COBRA 3 years instead of the normal 18 months?
Does anyone have any insight regarding CA COBRA?
|
Yes, CA has a program called CalCOBRA that extends federal COBRA by 18 months (so combined COBRA then CalCOBRA totals 36 months). This was my experience:
The Federal program (COBRA) allowed me to continue on my employer's plan paying monthly premiums equal to the Plan I selected from my old employer's then current options
+ a 2% admin fee.
After the 18 months of COBRA lapse, I was able to continue using my employer's Plan for an additional 18 months using CalCOBRA, paying monthly premiums equal to my employer's Plan premiums
+ a 10% admin fee. (It is my understanding that the 2% and 10% admin fees are maximums written into the law.)
Note: Most employers won't continue paying employee subsidies after separation, and so people are surprised (and upset) when they see the true cost of their employer insurance plans without the employer's subsidy. So before you make your decision of whether or not to use COBRA/CalCOBRA to bridge to medicare, get quotes and compare the full COBRA premiums to ACA/Direct plan options. Each person's circumstances can be different enough to make "the obvious choice" different.
NL