COBRA and 60 days to sign up

[Floralscent]

We will lose employer sponsored health insurance at the end of June, due to early retirement, and we are looking at healthcare options for July through December 2026. We will not qualify for Marketplace subsidy in 2026 but will in 2027 so it’s this 6 month timeframe we will be paying high premiums.

I read on this great forum about a 60 day COBRA window. Can someone please clarify what that 60 day window means? Does one have to sign up for Cobra by or on day 60? If we do end up with COBRA are we charged for the 60 days?

Thank you-

 

[RetiredHappy]

We will lose employer sponsored health insurance at the end of June, due to early retirement, and we are looking at healthcare options for July through December 2026. We will not qualify for Marketplace subsidy in 2026 but will in 2027 so it’s this 6 month timeframe we will be paying high premiums.

I read on this great forum about a 60 day COBRA window. Can someone please clarify what that 60 day window means? Does one have to sign up for Cobra by or on day 60? If we do end up with COBRA are we charged for the 60 days?

Thank you-

Yes, when you sign on day 60, you will need to also pay for the 2 months of coverage from 60 days ago.

 

[Floralscent]

If there is a medical emergency (during that 60 day period and while searching for health ins) and we end up going with COBRA, will that emergency be covered? Sounds like yes but wanting to confirm.

 

[COcheesehead]

Some further info

COBRA 60 Day Loophole Explained | Save on Premiums

Learn how the COBRA 60 day election period works and when you must pay. Understand the risks, rules, and smart alternatives before you decide.

washingtonhealthinsuranceagency.com

But what happens if there is an accident or you become incapacitated and you can’t pull the trigger in that 60 day window?

 

[badatmath]

I don't see much advantage in this. If you call a doctor in the 60 day period you have no insurance for them to verify and they may refuse to see you at all or would charge you a different rate than otherwise and there would presumably be some kind of adjustment later once cobra was elected. Seems messy and you run the risk of forgetting or being so incapacitated as to not be able to sign up all to pay a bill you are paying later anyway.

 

[COcheesehead]

I think it’s playing with FIRE, no pun intended

 

[deskpilot]

If there is a medical emergency (during that 60 day period and while searching for health ins) and we end up going with COBRA, will that emergency be covered? Sounds like yes but wanting to confirm.

yes. the providers can ask you to pay up front and you get reimbursed or they can wait. they can charge you the future expected insured rate or a non-insured rate, but in the end, if you sign up for cobra, you are covered and pay only the insured rate.

But what happens if there is an accident or you become incapacitated and you can’t pull the trigger in that 60 day window?

From the information we were given when my wife took early retirement, that would be bad. and the documentation we got didn't allow any exceptions.

 

[disneysteve]

We will lose employer sponsored health insurance at the end of June, due to early retirement, and we are looking at healthcare options for July through December 2026. We will not qualify for Marketplace subsidy in 2026 but will in 2027 so it’s this 6 month timeframe we will be paying high premiums.

I read on this great forum about a 60 day COBRA window. Can someone please clarify what that 60 day window means? Does one have to sign up for Cobra by or on day 60? If we do end up with COBRA are we charged for the 60 days?

My question would be why does any of this matter? If your current coverage ends June 30, you need to have new coverage already in place that starts July 1. Why would you wait 60 days?

Check the COBRA price. Check the marketplace price. Pick the one that's the better deal and sign up as soon as you can for coverage starting July 1. Don't risk being uninsured for any period of time.

 

[athena53]

I agree. I quit abruptly, they immediately dropped me from the employer plan and farmed out the COBRA paperwork to a third party that took a week to get it to me. In the interim I was doing sprint triathlon and I was paranoid as heck. You want the insurance card, not the vague promise to sign up for retroactive COBRA if you need medical attention. Fortunately I did not.

 

[disneysteve]

I agree. I quit abruptly, they immediately dropped me from the employer plan and farmed out the COBRA paperwork to a third party that took a week to get it to me. In the interim I was doing sprint triathlon and I was paranoid as heck. You want the insurance card, not the vague promise to sign up for retroactive COBRA if you need medical attention. Fortunately I did not.

I don’t think you can sign up for COBRA until your employment has terminated but it’s retroactive to the termination date. So there’s always a small gap. But I certainly wouldn’t stretch that out to 60 days.

 

[MichaelB]

We will lose employer sponsored health insurance at the end of June, due to early retirement, and we are looking at healthcare options for July through December 2026. We will not qualify for Marketplace subsidy in 2026 but will in 2027 so it’s this 6 month timeframe we will be paying high premiums.

I read on this great forum about a 60 day COBRA window. Can someone please clarify what that 60 day window means? Does one have to sign up for Cobra by or on day 60? If we do end up with COBRA are we charged for the 60 days?

Thank you-

You’re also eligible for an ACA policy in July because of the change in employment. It doesn’t hurt to price a plan and compare with the cost of the Cobra option.

 

[RetiredHappy]

You’re also eligible for an ACA policy in July because of the change in employment. It doesn’t hurt to price a plan and compare with the cost of the Cobra option.

It also depends on how much out of pocket costs have already been incurred on the current employer plan. With ACA plan, the out of pocket costs starts from $0 again.

 

[MichaelB]

It also depends on how much out of pocket costs have already been incurred on the current employer plan. With ACA plan, the out of pocket costs start.from $0 again.

All I suggested was to take a look.

 

[Dalton]

When I FIREd I didn't even get the COBRA letter until right at 30 days (coincidentally landed in my mailbox the day after I buckled and called my former employer asking where it was). Had to pay for 2 months (last & next) with the 1st payment. No new card or anything, just continued on with the company insurance as if I still worked there.

 

[Aerides]

Yes, you have 60 days to sign up.
Yes, if you sign up on day 59, payment is required the same as if you sign up on day 1.
Yes, you are covered retroactively if you have a medical expense on day 47, if you sign up on day 59.
However, on day 47 when you have the medical event, good luck navigating that with no current insurance. Yes, the ER will take you, but the hospital may not admit you without insurance, or might move you.
Heck, whenever I've called a new doctor's office they want my insurance number before my name. I'd imagine walking into an urgent care works the same? Expect to pay full cash rates and then have a world of paperwork to try to get reimbursed after the fact.

 

[Workinprogress]

I separated/retired on 01MAY26.

My employment coverage continues through 31MAY26.

I got the Cobra sign-up letter dated 08MAY26 on 15MAY26.

I signed up that same day and am waiting for my new Dental card and my wifes Medical and Dental cards now. No waiting for me or mine.

It is said to take 15 days to clear. If so, I will have the cards before my employer plan expires. We will see.

 

[deskpilot]

We had a total of 3 weeks without coverage because we were waiting for my wife's employer to provide the subsidy info. Eventually, we panicked and paid the full premium for 2 months and pushed wageworks to activate the plans ASAP. The employer added the subsidy a week later and we will get a refund when we eventually cancel.

The most important things that we learned from our cobra journey are:
1. miss the grace period for a payment and cobra is cancelled - no exceptions.
2. cancelling cobra or losing it for non payment is NOT a life changing event. You can only sign up for ACA during open enrollment if you took cobra. don't wait for cobra to end to sign up for aca. In our case, we are losing out on 3 months of generous subsidies so that we can switch to the ACA on Jan 1.

 

[athena53]

I don’t think you can sign up for COBRA until your employment has terminated but it’s retroactive to the termination date. So there’s always a small gap. But I certainly wouldn’t stretch that out to 60 days.

It actually had terminated. I announced I was retiring on a Monday, last day was on Friday, was paid through the end of the month as agreed (another 2 weeks) but that last 2 weeks' pay did not include any deductions for health insurance or the 401(k) so it was more like a lump-sum severance payment. I was off their books as of that Friday.

 

[COcheesehead]

I used Cobra my first year into retirement. In retrospect it was the most expensive option of all my years so far. It was easy, but expensive.
If you can figure out ACA, that is probably the better option.

 

[Workinprogress]

I used Cobra my first year into retirement. In retrospect it was the most expensive option of all my years so far. It was easy, but expensive.
If you can figure out ACA, that is probably the better option.

I retired to Medicare but for my wifes coverage the cheapest Wa State option was about $90 dollars more with worse coverage and did not include her doctors. It also allowed us both to have dental coverage for only about $20 dollars more than the ACA.

With her still earning as a Sole Proprieter, there was no way to qualify for any discounts.

Cobra for the win for us, even though it is a bit over $1100 a month.

 

[COcheesehead]

I retired to Medicare but for my wifes coverage the cheapest Wa State option was about $90 dollars more with worse coverage and did not include her doctors. It also allowed us both to have dental coverage for only about $20 dollars more than the ACA.

With her still earning as a Sole Proprieter, there was no way to qualify for any discounts.

Cobra for the win for us, even though it is a bit over $1100 a month.

I paid $1900/ month for Cobra. With ACA I got it down into the $700’s and eventually $600’s until it popped back up into the $900’s recently. We didn’t qualify for subsidies

 

[Flieger]

It's a gamble (like most anything I guess). I did what you are proposing. waited for the 60 days to start my ACA knowing that I could "go back" during that period if necessary.

Flieger

 

[FlyingCircus]

Don't wait. Talk to a medical insurance agent/broker now to start the process of setting you up with a new plan, either off the exchange or on the exchange. Excluding subsidies, the cost/list price of a bronze plan is very similar between the exchange "version" and the open market version - at least what I found last year. And unless the benefits of your existing employer plan are platinum plated (and therefore worth it), I think you will find the alternative plans are MUCH less expensive than going COBRA. Please let us know what you find!

 

[someday soon]

If there is a medical emergency (during that 60 day period and while searching for health ins) and we end up going with COBRA, will that emergency be covered? Sounds like yes but wanting to confirm.

I was the poster child for testing this out!

In my mid-50s, I left Job A on Friday and started Job B on Monday.
Medical coverage for Job B didn't start till the second month on the job, but I skipped COBRA from Job A to cover the gap. Heck, we were all healthy, with 2 kiddos in their 20s, and my cheap-ass self thought skipping a month of medical ins cost would be an easy win ...until a couple weeks later when we got a call at 4am from a hospital in my daughter's college town: she had fallen while climbing the side of a building ( ooof, don't ask! ) ...her jaw was shattered ("like cornflakes" the surgeon said ) and in need of emergency surgery. It was pretty weird on that call when the hospital immediately asked if we had any insurance.

In any case, I had no idea about any COBRA loophole, and so was stunned to find out we could sign up AFTER that nightmare, and it would all be covered even tho we had no insurance at the time of the accident. I even called my state division of insurance to verify that they wouldn't come after me.

 

[Koolau]

I was the poster child for testing this out!

In my mid-50s, I left Job A on Friday and started Job B on Monday.
Medical coverage for Job B didn't start till the second month on the job, but I skipped COBRA from Job A to cover the gap. Heck, we were all healthy, with 2 kiddos in their 20s, and my cheap-ass self thought skipping a month of medical ins cost would be an easy win ...until a couple weeks later when we got a call at 4am from a hospital in my daughter's college town: she had fallen while climbing the side of a building ( ooof, don't ask! ) ...her jaw was shattered ("like cornflakes" the surgeon said ) and in need of emergency surgery. It was pretty weird on that call when the hospital immediately asked if we had any insurance.

In any case, I had no idea about any COBRA loophole, and so was stunned to find out we could sign up AFTER that nightmare, and it would all be covered even tho we had no insurance at the time of the accident. I even called my state division of insurance to verify that they wouldn't come after me.

Thanks for sharing. Fantastic that the loophole exists.

How did your daughter's healing go - if I'm being too nosy, just ignore.