How to Qualify for COBRA Insurance Benefits

Experiencing a lay off, or getting handed a pink slip can be the beginning of a stressful time for many people. Many questions begin swirling in their head about how bills will be paid, and how their family will still be able to have health insurance. COBRA is a law that gives workers and their families rights to health care coverage. Here's how someone is qualified for those insurance benefits.

Things You'll Need

• Previous healthcare coverage under an employer

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Instructions

• 1

  COBRA healthcare coverage is available to former employees, retirees, spouses, former spouses, and dependent children when coverage is lost due to a qualifying event.

• 2

  A qualifying event for an employee that entitles them to COBRA coverage includes when the employee voluntarily or involuntarily has their employment terminated for other reasons than gross misconduct or their is a reduction in the amount of hours worked.

• 3

  For a spouse of a terminated employee, they would be qualified for COBRA if the employee becomes eligible for medicare there is a divorce or legal separation of the covered employee, the employee dies, as well as the same reasons the employee is covered as described in step 2.

• 4

  If a dependent child can become qualified for COBRA coverage if they loose their dependent child status under the plan rules, or they qualify by any other instances listed in steps two and three.

• 5

  For anyone to qualify for COBRA, the employee must have been enrolled in the health care plan when they did work, and health care must still be available for active employees of the company.