Although expensive, COBRA continues to be an important safeguard for some people who lose their jobs. If your former employer has 20 or more employees, the company is required by a 1986 federal law to offer you the option to pay for an extension of your health insurance coverage for at least 18 months. This law is known as COBRA, which stands for Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act.
COBRA and the Affordable Care Act
The Affordable Care Act signed into law in March 2010 addresses access to health insurance coverage and assures that all Americans who need coverage will be able to get health insurance. The legislation does not make any changes in COBRA. However, starting in 2014, you will be able to purchase insurance in health insurance exchanges in your state or region.
COBRA rules can be complicated, especially when applied to family members. I recently received the following question from one of my readers:
The Question
Several weeks ago, I was fired due to elimination of my regional sales management position. During this time, I was married but going through a divorce, which became final one week after I was laid off. I would like to know if my husband is still entitled to COBRA benefits since we were still married the day I was fired.
Please help me; I do not want my ex-husband to be left without COBRA benefits.
My Answer
I'm sorry to hear about your job elimination. Take a look at the following article from the U.S. Department of Labor:
Question 10 in the article answers your question. I hope this helps.
What do you think? Please leave a comment below or in the Health Insurance Forum.
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According to the poll by the Kaiser Family Foundation, 7% of Americans would marry for health insurance. Though, as the New York Times concedes, there is no quantitative way to know how often such cases occur, patient advocacy groups as well as lawyers have said they see these situations frequently.
In today’s health-conscious America, it seems that healthcare and marriage go hand-in-hand. As the Times said, “they marry for better or worse, for richer or poorer, for co-pays and deductibles.”
Read more: marriage for health benefits