Leaving: Health Insurance: COBRA Enrollment
From HPAlumnipedia
HPAlumnipedia > Leaving > Health Insurance > COBRA Enrollment
COBRA (COmprehensive Benefits Retention Act) lets you maintain health insurance coverage with your ex-employer's group plan, typically for up to 18 months. To take advantage of it, you must sign up before time expires, usually 60 days after loss of coverage (termination). Here's how it went for several people...
To enroll: Contact the HP Benefits Center for Cobra Confirmation of Coverage at 1-800-890-3100.
Mabel Esteves April 2007
If you are covered by COBRA, here are some other observations based on my experiences in California.
Every transition phase will go into higher premiums and less benefits but you are covered.
For a WFR with pre-existing conditions (worst case scenario), coverage in CA will go like this: [this may also apply to those 2007 EERs with 24 month COBRA]
- From HP to COBRA (18 months, 36 if disabled) covers the same basic health and dental benefits you had in HP at a higher cost to you.
- to CalCOBRA (18 months)if participating in a HMO, sorry not for PPOs.
- to Conversion (HIPAA). [HIPAA is actually the last federal guarantee resort. In California, it is also called conversion.] All it means you are "guaranteed" medical coverage without medical questionnaire or check up as long as you can pay. Fees are higher than COBRA and benefits more limited than COBRA. Your child would need a separate coverage once he is older than 18.
Mabel Esteves, October 2007
If you have preexisting conditions, you may not be able to get into one of Kaiser individual plans. But Kaiser must provide you with the conversion plan (HIPPA) which insures coverage.
What I did was first convert while I was applying to their individual plans which was more cost effective than the conversion plan. I though since I had been with Kaiser forever, they would take me into the individual plans. I was not approved for any of them. So I stayed with the conversion plan. Expensive but I am covered.
Alan Silverstein, Fall 2002:
A rather straightforward form showed up soon after my termination date. The monthly costs for medical, dental, and vision were what I already expected from the green "Leaving HP" book received by FedEx the week after my termination date.
Richard Zeng, Nov 2002:
FAQ's said that WFR people's medical insurance ended on their termination date. I believe that in fact the medical insurance is effective through the whole pay period. This may be related to the way that HP pays the bill to the HMO. ...my insurance is not ended on Nov 22, 2002 (my termination date). It will be effective through November.
Alan Silverstein, Fall 2002:
This matches my experience. My premiums in my last partial pay period were normal for a half-month and not prorated, and my first COBRA bill was for a period starting Nov 16, 2002, not Nov 12 (day after termination).
A 2002 benefits person (also at Hewitt but a different group) told me that COBRA actually begins the day after your termination. Normal (full) payroll deductions are taken from the final, partial pay period payout, and some is applied to COBRA, which is why the first COBRA bill starts with the first date of the next pay period. But what about the company share for the post-termination part of your final pay period? I don't know.
I do know my first bill was a bit higher even than a straight 1.5 months should have been; company share? The representative said the first partial month is pro-rated by days, whereas later full months are not!
Anyway, I heard it's best to defer signing up for COBRA until as late as you feel comfortable deferring -- but beware you do enroll within the 60 day window so you are not lost forever. Why defer? Because your benefits are retroactive, you can sign up for them when and only if you need them. If you find other insurance, or a new job with group health benefits, before the 60 days expire, you can avoid having to pay for COBRA at all.
However, I decided to sign up immediately as long as I was on the phone with them anyway to ask some questions. (That's right, you can sign up with a simple phone call. Nice.) I did it earlier rather than later because I had a doctor appointment scheduled and I didn't want any hassles with exercising the UHC (HP medical option B) $10 copay.
Although as it turned out, Hewitt or UHC (unclear which) was slow to get the word I'd signed up, but the provider didn't check again since it wasn't my first visit to them...
I heard that if you have an "uncovered" window between termination and showing up as covered by COBRA, you might have to pay the full cost of a medical visit up front and then file a claim later after COBRA is initiated.
I received a COBRA bill within a week that I had to pay within 45 days from the statement date. So you see, I figured it didn't hurt to sign up by phone for COBRA a couple of weeks after my termination date, especially since I had no immediate prospects for replacement insurance.
Furthermore, I signed up for all of medical, dental, and vision for me and my daughter, and was told I could drop any of these at any time, including before paying the first bill. This let me research alternatives, especially to dental.
Later: I received a second bill, now including all of Dec 2002, and I still had until Dec 9 to pay the total.
Later: I did pay for medical and vision through the end of 2002 while dropping dental (see also Health Insurance Alternatives), it was straightforward, and I confirmed by phone that I'd done it right.
Patrick Murphy, Nov 2002:
I talked with a Hewitt rep today and learned that the EAP (Employee Assistance Program) is available on COBRA with no premium -- that's right, it's free -- but you have to ask for it...
