What is COBRA Insurance Coverage?
COBRA isnt an insurance plan, so theres technically no such thing as COBRA health insurance, COBRA medical insurance, or even, ‘COBRA insurance coverage’. COBRA, the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1985, is the acronym for a federal law requiring employers providing group health insurance plans to offer continued access to the plan when covered employees (or their spouse or dependents) experience a qualifying event. So when you hear the term, ‘COBRA insurance’, think of employer group insurance that’s still in effect after one of the events listed below. Employers with fewer than 20 employees are exempt from federal COBRA rules, but check to see if your state imposes stricter standards. California, for example, has Cal-COBRA that includes employers with 1-19 employees. Actually, 2009 is a bonus year for those impacted by involuntary terminations (such as layoffs) that occur between September 2008, 2008 and December 31, 2009. Included in the federal stimulus package is
