Ohio Cobra Laws

Congress passed the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act (COBRA) in 1986. The law gives some employees the ability to choose whether or not to maintain their group health care coverage when their employment status changes. Under certain circumstances, an employee is permitted to temporarily keep health care coverage for himself and his family even though he no longer works for an employer. Ohio, like most states, has established its own variation of the federal act, known as a "mini" COBRA law, which expands the program.

Covered Individuals

• The federal COBRA law only applies to employees of businesses with more than 20 employees that provide group health coverage to their employees. While the federal law covers a lot of employees, it does not cover those working for small businesses with fewer than 20 employees.

  The Ohio mini-COBRA law, also known as state continuation coverage, was amended in 2009. It extends COBRA benefits to employees of small businesses with 10 to 19 employees that offer group health coverage to their employees. To qualify for state COBRA benefits, an employee must be enrolled in the group plan for at least three months prior to termination. In addition, the employee must have been involuntarily terminated, but not for gross misconduct. She must not qualify for Medicare or be enrolled in another group health care plan, including another COBRA program. An individual does not need to receive unemployment benefits to qualify.

Enrollment

• Displaced workers have a limited amount of time to enroll in state continuation coverage. Under Ohio's mini-COBRA law, an individual must enroll in the program within 10 days of losing his coverage when notice is given about continuation rights before coverage is lost. When no notice is provided, an individual has 31 days to enroll in state continuation coverage from the date of termination.

Benefits

• Ohio continuation coverage covers basic medical services, such as hospital, surgery and other major medical services, but does not include dental or vision care. After changes instituted in 2009, the program must include prescription drug coverage when it is part of the benefits of the group plan. In general, the benefits offered under continuation coverage are the same as those afforded to an individual in the group health plan.

Benefit Period

• The Ohio mini-COBRA law change of 2009 extends coverage from six months to 12 months, unless the individual joins a new group plan first or becomes eligible for Medicare.

Right to Purchase Individual Health Insurance

• Ohio does not give individuals the right to purchase an individual health insurance plan until they deplete the benefits of federal COBRA or state continuation coverage.