Going off COBRA on to ObamaCare

[joeea]

Thank you, COBRA!

Seems like a reasonable strategy.

Have you priced the cost to you of the COBRA option and compared it to an equivalent health exchange plan? It's probably worth checking.
Also, make sure everyone who needs to be covered is on your plan before you leave employment. You can't add them to COBRA afterwards.

 

[SheitlQueen]

Moving may qualify you for special enrollment. I would check with ACA to make sure though.

Life changes that can qualify you for a Special Enrollment Period
Changes in household
You may qualify for a Special Enrollment Period if you or anyone in your household in the past 60 days:
Changes in residence.
Household moves that qualify you for a Special Enrollment Period:

Moving to a new home in a new ZIP code or county

 

[24601NoMore]

Seems like a reasonable strategy.

Have you priced the cost to you of the COBRA option and compared it to an equivalent health exchange plan? It's probably worth checking.
Also, make sure everyone who needs to be covered is on your plan before you leave employment. You can't add them to COBRA afterwards.

Yep..actually looked into COBRA rates for both me and DW. She may RE before me, and we're both on separate plans.

Turns out the "employee only" COBRA cost is pretty reasonable for both of us ($5-600/mo ea), so we'll probably go MegaCorp plan to COBRA individually, vs going to one or the other company's plans then to COBRA.

The total cost is roughly the same - maybe a little bit lower - than an exchange plan, but the coverage is LIGHT YEARS better (as in, no $6,500 PER PERSON!) deductibles to satisfy.

Having MegaCorp COBRA'd coverage for 18 months will also allow me to do all those tests I've been putting off cuz I've been "too busy" working..if I did those on ACA, I'd probably have to fork over roughly $6,500 before the plan pays penny one..

 

[karen1972]

We tried to quit our Cobra and were told we would not qualify for ACA credits until Cobra expired since enrollment period doesn't align with Cobra (ie our plan ran July to July) so when open enrollment came around we HAD insurance. We could get an ACA plan, but NO credits. We answered all the questions and even called and got the same answer.

However moving states is usually a qualifying event

 

[joeea]

Yep..actually looked into COBRA rates for both me and DW. She may RE before me, and we're both on separate plans.

Turns out the "employee only" COBRA cost is pretty reasonable for both of us ($5-600/mo ea), so we'll probably go MegaCorp plan to COBRA individually, vs going to one or the other company's plans then to COBRA.

It's surprising that two individual plans together cost less than one "employee+spouse" plan. Perhaps your companies only offer "family" plans that are prohibitively expensive?