Obtaining Your COBRA Election Form

Where do I get the COBRA election form to complete? My employer says I need to send it in soon.

The COBRA insurance form should be sent to you by the employer’s human resources department, or the company may have hired a third-party administrator to manage the COBRA benefits enrollment. Your employer or the administrator has 45 days to send you the paperwork. Once you receive the form, you have 60 days to elect coverage.

When Will I Get My COBRA Election Notice?

My job was terminated 2 weeks ago, when will I get my paperwprk about beginning COBRA?

Except When Employer Has Fewer Than 19 Workers

A business that employs 19 or fewer workers does not have to comply with the federal COBRA law. Some states have laws that require these small businesses to offer health insurance continuation. The deadline to provide notice to continue the work health plan is handled differently per state. Find your state and the laws regarding insurance continuation.

COBRA Election Notice Instructions

In general, the paperwork you receive for COBRA enrollment informs you on who will now manage your health insurance coverage, how to enroll, the premium costs, where to pay and how long the plan is available to you.

The process for obtaining COBRA may be done by hand directly through an employer or online account set up by a third-party administrator.

What’s Required In A COBRA Election Notice?

What information will my employer send me about COBRA coverage?

The COBRA notification may come from your former employer or a third-party administrator that will manage that plan moving forward. Your COBRA election notice will contain all of the information you will need to continue your health plan.

The election notice should include:

• The name of the plan and the name, address, and telephone number of the plan’s COBRA administrator
• Identification of the qualifying event;
• Identification of the qualified beneficiaries (by name or by status);
• An explanation of the qualified beneficiaries’ right to elect continuation coverage;
• The date coverage will terminate (or has terminated) if continuation coverage is not elected;
• How to elect continuation coverage;
• What will happen if continuation coverage isn’t elected or is waived;
• What continuation coverage is available, for how long, and (if it is for less than 36 months), how it can be extended for disability or second qualifying events;
• How COBRA coverage may terminate early;
• Premium payment requirements, including due dates and grace periods;
• A statement of the importance of keeping the plan administrator informed of the addresses of qualified beneficiaries;
• A statement that the election notice does not fully describe COBRA or the plan and that more information is available from the plan administrator and in the SPD.

Resource: An Employer’s Guide To Group Health Continuation Coverage Under COBRA

What Happens when the Employer Fails to Comply with COBRA?

The recommendation is to first try to work it out directly with the human resources department that provides the insurance. If you meet resistance with the employer on starting COBRA, you may call the Department of Labor to file a complaint.

What If I Did Not Receive a COBRA Election Letter?

We recommend working with the employer’s human resources department. Call and ask them to resend the health insurance continuation election form. They may refer you to their third-party administrator.

If I Have Not Received Any Information Yet, Does It Mean I Am Not Covered?

If I have not received any information yet, does that mean I am not covered? Will there be a lapse in coverage?