Health Insurance Options For Laid-Off Workers

According to the Kaiser Family Foundation, about half of Americans, including nearly half of Nevadans, have health insurance through their employer. If you rely on employer-based health insurance and you lose your job, you may wonder what happens if you need medical care before you are able to get new coverage.

For those who have recently lost their jobs, there are several options that enable them to maintain health insurance coverage. Below are five health insurance options for the recently unemployed.

COBRA Coverage

Depending on your former employer’s policies, you may be able to extend your current health insurance plan through COBRA. This acronym (COBRA) refers to the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1985. The law requires group medical plans covering twenty employees or more to offer participants the option to receive continued healthcare benefits for up to eighteen months after the cancellation of their group plan.

Prior to COBRA, if workers lost their jobs, they immediately lost their health insurance. This law gives qualified workers the option of keeping their group health insurance plan if they lose or quit their job or lose their full-time job status.

This option is cost-prohibitive for many. Check with your employer to find out the price of the Cobra. During your employment, your employer pays a significant portion of your monthly premium. If you choose the Cobra option after losing your job, you will have to pay the full amount of your premium, along with a potential 2% administration fee. Before electing Cobra, call us!! We may be able to save you THOUSANDS each year.​

Is Accepting COBRA Coverage Mandatory?

You are not required to accept COBRA. This option is not for everyone, but it can benefit those in certain situations and help avoid gaps in coverage.

How Much Does COBRA Cost?

The biggest drawback to COBRA is its cost. With this option, you pay both your portion of the monthly premium as well as what the employer paid. Additionally, there may be an administrative fee. The high cost of COBRA can be burdensome for anyone and it can put coverage out of reach financially for someone who has recently become unemployed. Before you begin to pay your first Cobra payment, you should speak with a health insurance agent about your available options. You may be eligible for a Government “Subsidy” to help you pay your health insurance. This would not help pay your Cobra, but it would enroll you into and help pay for a “Qualified Health Plan” that covers pre-existing conditions.

When Is COBRA the Best Option?

COBRA is costly, but it can be a bargain compared to being uninsured. If you or one of your dependents has ongoing health needs such as an illness or disability, paying for COBRA may not only save you from high stress situations like having to change medical providers, but in many cases, you may have a PPO plan. In Nevada, we have very few, if any, PPO plans available. It’s very important to speak with a qualified, knowledgeable health insurance agent about this. You owe it to yourself to get some insight into what your options and costs could be. Don’t rush into accepting Cobra. Call your agent and ask them what your options are.

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What If I Change My Mind?

If you initially decide to accept COBRA but later change your mind, you may have limited options. The options you have will be fewer because of the time limitations for a Qualified Life Event (which triggers a special enrollment period). Call your agent BEFORE you pay for Cobra and find out what all your options are.

If you want to change coverage during the Open Enrollment Period, which runs from November 1st through January 15th, you are always free to make changes then. If it is outside the enrollment period and you want to end COBRA early, you do not qualify for a special enrollment period.

Nevada Health Link

Losing health insurance due to job loss is a Qualifying Life Event that opens a Special Enrollment Period to choose a plan through Nevada Health Link. During this time, you can select a comprehensive health insurance plan similar to the one that you have through your employer. You’ll only have 60 days from the date of your “Life Event” (losing group insurance coverage) to act, so it is important to act quickly to avoid being ineligible to enroll into a “qualified health plan”. These plans cover pre-existing conditions. This may be a very economical option, as you may qualify for a federal subsidy (financial help) to lower your monthly premium.

Short-Term Health Insurance

As the name suggests, short-term health insurance provides limited, temporary health insurance coverage until you are able to get major medical insurance during an “open enrollment” period. You can enroll into one of these plans at any time (no enrollment period is imposed), but these plans are not suitable for everyone. Unlike ACA-compliant plans at Nevada Health Link, they do not have to cover essential benefits like preventative services, pre-existing conditions, and prescription coverage is very limited.

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