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What Happens to My Insurance if I Lose My Job?

If you already had health insurance coverage as an employee benefit and you leave your job, voluntarily or otherwise, one of your first concerns should be to maintaining protection against the costs of health care. You could do this in one of several ways:

• First, you must know that under a federal law (the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1985, usually known as COBRA), group health plans sponsored by employers with 20 or few more employees are obligatory to offer continued health insurance coverage for you and your dependents for 18 months after you leave your job. (Under the same law, following an employee’s death or divorce matter, the worker’s family has the right to carry on health insurance coverage for up to three years.) If you wish to continue your group health insurance under this choice, you must inform your employer within 60 days. You will also have to pay the entire premium, up to 102 percent of the cost of the health insurance coverage.

• If COBRA does not apply in your case may be because you work for an employer with fewer than 20 employees—you could be able to convert your own group policy to individual health insurance coverage. The advantage of that option is that you might not have to pass a medical exam, although exclusion based on a preexisting condition one may apply, depending on your medical history and your insurance history.

• Another possibility of obtaining health insurance is through an association. Many trade and professional associations offer their members health care coverage. Often HMOs as well as basic hospital-surgical policies and any disability and long-term health care insurance. If you are self-employed, you might find association membership an attractive route.

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