Insurance in Times of Transition
Special enrollment for special life events
Sometimes we face life changes that affect our health insurance. You may even need to change your health insurance outside of the yearly open enrollment period. This period is usually the only time in which you can sign up through your employer for a new health insurance plan, enroll in other benefit programs like flexible spending accounts, or make changes to your existing plan—however, there are exceptions.
Qualifying Life Event
Catastrophic Health Insurance
https://www.cigna.com/knowledge-center/what-is-catastrophic-health-insurance
A claim is a request for payment or reimbursement that you or your healthcare provider submits to your health insurance company after you receive a medical bill. The specific care or services you received must be covered under your plan in order for you to be reimbursed.
COBRA
The Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act (COBRA) gives individuals and families the right to continue health insurance coverage after a loss of group plan benefits. This can be due to losing or leaving your job, a change in how many hours you work, death, divorce, and other life events. If you qualify, you may be required to pay the entire premium for coverage up to 102% of the cost to the plan. For more information on COBRA, visit www.dol.gov.
Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act (COBRA) is a federal law that allows individuals and their dependents to continue coverage under their employer’s group plan after becoming unemployed or after a reduction of working hours at companies with more than 20 employees. Many states have enacted mini-COBRA laws to offer this protection to employees of smaller companies. Your state department of insurance website is a good resource for this type of information.
With COBRA, individuals pay for the full premium costs and administration fee that their previous employer may have paid for; therefore, health insurance is typically more expensive than when they were employed.
COBRA usually lasts up to 18 months, though it may extend up to 36 months under certain conditions. Additional details about COBRA can be found on the federal department of labor website.
There are strict timelines in place for electing to continue group coverage under the COBRA law. In the occurrence that your employment status changes, be sure to talk to your employer’s human resource department or office administrator or check out your state’s division of insurance website as soon as possible.
For any questions you may have about health insurance or navigating the healthcare system, your CareConnect team is just a phone call or email away. Call 1-800-745-4447, option 3 or email info@CareConnectPSS.com.