Electing COBRA

Once your employer notifies our office of your COBRA event, we will generate your COBRA enrollment materials. In your COBRA packet, you will receive:

• Information regarding your COBRA rights
• Your obligations should you choose to enroll
• Previously enrolled benefits with cost for you and all dependents
• Health Benefits Plan Continuation Plan Election Form
• Carrier enrollment forms

Your COBRA enrollment period is 60 days and begins from your loss of coverage date or the date printed on your COBRA election notice, whichever is later.

To elect COBRA, please return the following to our office:

• Completed and signed Health Benefits Plan Continuation Plan Election Form
• Completed and signed carrier enrollment forms
• Premium payment

*Your COBRA enrollment will not be processed until all required COBRA enrollment forms and premium payment are received by our office. Please allow 5-7 business days for your enrollment to be processed by the carrier.

Open Enrollment

COBRA qualified beneficiaries have the same rights as active employees. So if you have COBRA coverage, you are eligible to participate in your former employer’s open enrollment process. Towards the end of the plan year, you will receive open enrollment materials from us. You will receive information about:

• Eligible COBRA plans, rates, plan summaries, and SBCs
• COBRA Open Enrollment forms
• Carrier enrollment forms

During open enrollment, you may add dependents to your plan. Dependents that are added to your COBRA coverage during open enrollment will not have the same rights as you, the qualified beneficiary. This means if another qualifying event occurs, the dependent you added during open enrollment will not be offered an extension of COBRA coverage. When you end your COBRA coverage, they do, too.

If you received a COBRA Open Enrollment packet, please return the following to our office:

• Completed and signed COBRA Open Enrollment Form. (This form is required even if you do not make any changes to your coverage)
• Completed and signed carrier enrollment forms for any coverage that is changing

*Failure to return open enrollment forms to our office could result in termination of your COBRA coverage.

COBRA Termination

You may be terminated from COBRA for any of the following:

• You have reached the last day of your Federal COBRA eligibility
• Your premiums were not paid within the 30 day grace period
• Voluntary termination request
• Your previous employer ceases all group coverage
• You obtain coverage under another group health plan that does not have an exclusion for pre-existing condition
• You become entitled to Medicare after electing COBRA

All voluntary COBRA termination requests must be submitted to our office in writing. These requests may be submitted to our office via email or post.