Everything You Should Know About COBRA in Ohio

President Ronald Reagan, a name you probably have not heard recently unless you have been taking a class on our past presidents. Like most presidents each one has left some mark on history. If you are familiar with COBRA insurance than you are familiar with a mark that was left by President Ronald Reagan. COBRA stands for Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act. COBRA became an amendment to a law called Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) on April 7th 1986.

If you have been working at a job that offers Ohio health insurance and then your employers announces that they cannot offer Ohio health insurance any longer, COBRA will now become very important to you. COBRA was designed to help those who have been previously receiving coverage through their employers, but who are no longer covered. With COBRA you can continue the same insurance that you had through your company for another eighteen months if needed. One major benefit is that for those eighteen months you will continue to be covered for any pre-existing conditions, which may not be the case once you have to find new individual Ohio health insurance. If you have a disability or fall under other requirements you may be able to have COBRA for up to thirty-six months.

Does anyone qualify for COBRA? No, you have to be in these following situations:

1. “Your former company must employ over 20 employees at least 50 percent of the year.

2. A "qualifying event" must occur:
• Loss of job or cut hours – the employee, their spouse, and dependent children are eligible
• Divorce or legal separation – a spouse and dependent children are eligible
• Eligibility for Medicare (turning 65 years old) – a spouse and dependent children are eligible
• Death of the employee – a spouse and dependent children are eligible
• A child becomes no longer a dependent – the formerly dependent child is eligible

3. You must have been covered by your former employer’s plan when a qualifying event occurs.”

So what do you do if you have had COBRA for the allotted time of eighteen months and it is about to run out? If you have had COBRA for the whole amount of time allowed to you by the government, you now have to find your own individual Ohio health insurance. Since you have had COBRA for the maximum amount of time, you have the right to any plan. That means that you cannot be denied for any pre-existing condition. You cannot be denied, because the HIPAA now protects you. HIPAA stands for the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act. This may sound too good to be true so you are probably expecting a catch. The catch is that the plans available to you are likely to be very expensive. So talk with a Ohio health insurance broker today if you are coming off of COBRA, so that they can find you an affordable plan with the benefits you need.