How Can I Benefit From COBRA?

COBRA is a plan that many in recent years have become experts in, very simply because it provides people will the coverage they need at the point at which they lose steady employment with benefits. COBRA has a lot to offer these men and women but there are also several drawbacks to committing to this method of maintain steady medical insurance.

COBRA is a program that says that you must be offered to maintain your employer based health insurance plan even after you lose your employment. This means that you can maintain the level of coverage that you had but you must pay not just your current premium amount but your employer's portion as well in order to hold onto your medical health insurance. COBRA is a program that has been instituted by the government as a way of making sure that people are given the opportunity to maintain health insurance coverage while attempting to locate another job. All companies must offer this option to their employees if they are a business that has over 15 employees.

Of course, the primary benefit of COBRA is that it provides you with a convenient way to allow your entire family to maintain health insurance while you are seeking new employment and this can provide peace of mind as you are out and about looking. It will also likely provide you with better coverage than that which you will be able to attain by purchasing your own private pay insurance policy and will also help significantly if you or a family member are currently dealing with a serious health issue. And in the current economy the government is providing some additional relief to those who are out of work and are taking the COBRA option for their health insurance and they will subsidize premiums for those who qualify.

COBRA is a good health insurance option for families who have suffered loss of employment but it is not without drawbacks. It can be very costly to maintain health insurance premiums and on a lesser salary with higher out of pocket premium expenses it is more likely than not that most individuals and families cannot afford to pay their health insurance premiums at all and will likely either find other ways to obtain coverage or may allow their policy to terminate entirely.

While COBRA is insurance that must be offered to those employees who are fired or laid off it is important to understand that this may or may not be a feasible option for those on unemployment. If you or someone you know is considering COBRA it is important to make sure that you carefully consider all the options before selecting these higher priced benefits.