COBRA Insurance or...?

R Q

R Q

Well-Known Member
Joined
Apr 4, 2005
Location
Charlotte
So wife is changing jobs and we will have a 90 day lapse in coverage and COBRA is expensive! So am looking for alternatives. Anybody with first hand experience with a short term policy?
I've just started to look so if there's an easy answer I apologize.
 
Without being nosey, how expensive is it?
My personal plan (not through work or anything) health insurance is <$400 month through BCBS
 
R Q said:
So wife is changing jobs and we will have a 90 day lapse in coverage and COBRA is expensive! So am looking for alternatives. Anybody with first hand experience with a short term policy?
I've just started to look so if there's an easy answer I apologize.
Click to expand...

Cobra is just a continuation of your employers plan (plus a little mark up). So if you had good coverage or your employer was covering a good chunk of your premium, I'm sure your cost is expensive and surprising. For me, insurance is confusing...and I frickin hate it. I'd definitely recommend reaching out to a bonafied agent and seeing what they'd recommend to get by...probably cheaper major medical plans out there than what your employer was providing. I'm currently using Lee Snow at Snow Benefits Group out of Salisbury for business purposes, but he also manages individual policies. I also use Sean Michelsen at NFP out of Charlotte, but they tend to be larger group plans and only shop top end policies.
 
Jody Treadway said:
Without being nosey, how expensive is it?
My personal plan (not through work or anything) health insurance is <$400 month through BCBS
Click to expand...
COBRA coverage for wife and me is $1500-1700 per month depending on which plan we choose. From what I'm seeing online temporary coverage is $250-$400 per month with $7500-12,500 deductible and 60/40 or 70/30 so as long as we don't need a doctor we are fine! :rolleyes:
My agent who does my business and personal doesn't do personal health insurance and she said for the best coverage the COBRA is the way to go because we stay on our same plan and by this time of the year our deductible is covered.
 
R Q said:
COBRA coverage for wife and me is $1500-1700 per month depending on which plan we choose. From what I'm seeing online temporary coverage is $250-$400 per month with $7500-12,500 deductible and 60/40 or 70/30 so as long as we don't need a doctor we are fine! :rolleyes:
My agent who does my business and personal doesn't do personal health insurance and she said for the best coverage the COBRA is the way to go because we stay on our same plan and by this time of the year our deductible is covered.
Click to expand...

That sounds insane to me...or you had killer coverage...I'm offering entire family plans for $1200-1400/month total premium. A $1500-1700/month ES plan is outrageous. Without knowing all the details and seeing actual numbers, I'm leaning on the side of questioning your agent.
 
let me offer another option...
Look into this as I am not an insurance agent nor expert...but we used it when I changed and it worked flawlessly for me at that time.

As far as I understand it...by fed law Cobra has to be back datable to the time of separation regardless of when you sign up.
So what I did was we were uninsured for 60 days...had an event occurred we would have activated COBRA then. It didnt so we just kept that money.
 
Ron said:
let me offer another option...
Look into this as I am not an insurance agent nor expert...but we used it when I changed and it worked flawlessly for me at that time.

As far as I understand it...by fed law Cobra has to be back datable to the time of separation regardless of when you sign up.
So what I did was we were uninsured for 60 days...had an event occurred we would have activated COBRA then. It didnt so we just kept that money.
Click to expand...
I know and saw that! Was considering same...
 
What’s your age? Do you go to the doctor often?

what’s the risk for 90 days for saving the $ until the new policy takes effect?


For my situation, considering the cost and my age and my family’s use of insurance, I would most likely go uninsured and if anything came up, I’d pay cash. We are healthy and young, so insurance is used rarely and when it actually is used, it’s for routine visits which are much cheaper than insurance premiums. And, paying cash at time of service gets you notable discounts from the provider if you negotiate it up front.

or another option would be to find a high deductible plan so if something tragic or major happens, you at least have some coverage.
 
Ron said:
let me offer another option...
Look into this as I am not an insurance agent nor expert...but we used it when I changed and it worked flawlessly for me at that time.

As far as I understand it...by fed law Cobra has to be back datable to the time of separation regardless of when you sign up.
So what I did was we were uninsured for 60 days...had an event occurred we would have activated COBRA then. It didnt so we just kept that money.
Click to expand...
What's the status on the whole "pre-existing conditions" qualifier? It used to be a thing that automatically kicked in if you had a lapse in insurance.
Then the ACA banned the practice, which made a lot of people happy... but also made rates go up...
Then Trump has reversed various parts of ACA... but I don't know if this was one of the components?

The point - make sure you won't get nailed later for having a gap. I don't know if that is still a thing or not.
 
I just went through this, and am still currently using cobra. If you delay signing up for cobra then you will have to back pay all the months from leaving the old job to current to have coverage from them. I ended up having to pay like 3 months at once in order to activate our healthcare.
 
jyaks said:
I just went through this, and am still currently using cobra. If you delay signing up for cobra then you will have to back pay all the months from leaving the old job to current to have coverage from them. I ended up having to pay like 3 months at once in order to activate our healthcare.
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Yes, but if you activated it immediately you would have paid that anyway. And if you didnt need it, you wouldn't have had to pay it at all.

If you can, set aside what you would pay in COBRA. If you have a claim that is worth filing, back pay COBRA. If not, buy Jeep parts...
 
LBarr2002 said:
Yes, but if you activated it immediately you would have paid that anyway. And if you didnt need it, you wouldn't have had to pay it at all.

If you can, set aside what you would pay in COBRA. If you have a claim that is worth filing, back pay COBRA. If not, buy Mustang parts...
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^^^^^ This is what I did
 
Like @Ron and @LBarr2002 said, you can basically do nothing. I had the opportunity to do this when I changed jobs late last year. 90 days before my new insurance took effect, and due to extra vacation, there was an extra week of coverage from the old job. I was gonna just wing it, BUT my new job agreed to pay my Cobra coverage, and I did not see it as ethical to pocket that money, so I wrote the check to the health insurance company. It was not an easy decision, because that was over $4k in the form of a check with my name on it.
 
There was a Insurance Q&A on the morning news, since the yearly sign up is fast upon us. The ACA is still active, along with the Requirement to Have Health coverage. But, the Penalty was dropped for not having coverage. [Required to have, but can't force you?] One thing of interest was the statement that 95% of participants, receive a supplement,on their payment. I'm no longer under that, so I have no idea of cost, or coverage. Plenty of Free assistance to sort through the plans.
 
The odds are in your favor of not needing it.
But I'm not saying don't get it .... the end result can be disastrous.
I like the back date idea, but ...... what I did was ....
Made it part of my new employment deal.
I simply said "I can't be without insurance".
They wanted me bad enough to pay COBRA .....
Some companies will also work with the new insurers to speed things up.
 
Lizooki said:
Some companies will also work with the new insurers to speed things up.
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Technically they can’t ‘work’ with insurance to speed things up, insurance availability is actually contractually bound. Your employer can choose when all new hires are eligible...but they only get to make that choice once a year. Otherwise, changing/adding coverage needs to result from a qualifying event or a qualifying exemption. That said, an employer could fudge a hire date, but come that company’s annual audit, it could be uncovered and then theyd be facing a whole other level of potential fraud issues. Now what might be the case is your employer signs up for immediate eligibility, but they have upwards of 90 days for submission. Like i do The first of a month after 60 days...I could just as easily say it’s 90 days and negotiate down to my eligibility terms.
 
I sell individual health insurance and have for 11 years now. I’ll be more than happy to help you and anyone else navigate options and help compare.

You have to be careful with short term plans. They read well and are affordable but have pre-existing clauses so you’ll have zero coverage for any conditions you have had. By no means are they bad but you should know the ins and outs.

Here’s my cell (954) 464-3558. If anyone else needs help or would like me to compare options, let me know. There’s a whole private market no one knows about that isn’t online.

Forgot to add my name, Andrew Atchinson!
 
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99JeepXJ said:
I sell individual health insurance and have for 11 years now. I’ll be more than happy to help you and anyone else navigate options and help compare.

You have to be careful with short term plans. They read well and are affordable but have pre-existing clauses so you’ll have zero coverage for any conditions you have had. By no means are they bad but you should know the ins and outs.

Here’s my cell (954) 464-3558. If anyone else needs help or would like me to compare options, let me know. There’s a whole private market no one knows about that isn’t online.

Forgot to add my name, Andrew Atchinson!
Click to expand...
Thanks for the info, look forward to hearing from you.
 
I got @99JeepXJ 's quote and it is solid! Any of y'all who have to self insure should get a quote from him. It's simple and clear and very well spelled out. We will either wing it for 3 months and use Cobra if necessary or use his coverage. No others stacked up, not even close!
 
R Q said:
I got @99JeepXJ 's quote and it is solid! Any of y'all who have to self insure should get a quote from him. It's simple and clear and very well spelled out. We will either wing it for 3 months and use Cobra if necessary or use his coverage. No others stacked up, not even close!
Click to expand...

Thank you!

If I can help anyone let me know. Even if we aren’t the best option for someone I’m more than happy to help.
 
Can you do SC r3sidents as well?
 
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