California Health Plan and COBRA

A California health plan is beneficial to have not just for basic health concerns but also when you suffer an injury or are diagnosed with a serious disease. What happens though if you are getting group health coverage through your job and suddenly you have to leave your job, are forced to quit for whatever reason or are laid off or fired. If this is the case then you will automatically lose the California health plan you have by way of your employer. This is not an enviable state to be in. There are cases where losing your job does not necessarily mean that you will lose your health plan. It is unfair in a lot of cases if this happens because most people do not voluntarily leave their jobs. COBRA allows you to keep your insurance coverage but you will be required to pay more money than you did when you were covered by your workplace.

COBRA (or more specifically Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1985) came into existence on April 7, 1986 as a means of protecting people who lose their jobs. Due to the discrepancy between the year it was first created, 1985, and the date it became law in 1986, some people refer to it as the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1986. This law specifically states that an employee who works at a job where there is at least 20 employees or more will be entitled to still be covered under the California health plan for up to a period of 18 months. This is the case for those who quit their jobs as well as those who are laid off.

COBRA also helps people in other instances as well, in regards to their health plan. If you get divorced or become widowed and were covered under your spouse’s (or ex spouse’s) policy then you are still given 18 months of coverage. If you are a student and are covered under your parent’s California health plan then once you graduate you can continued to be covered for up to a span of 18 months (just the same as if you were laid off from a job).

If an employer from a company for any reason drops a California health plan, COBRA does not come into effect for the employees that lose their benefits. This is considered to be a separate situation all together and employees must seek out other means of health insurance such as an individual California health insurance plan, group insurance by way of an association, Medicaid or Medicare.