Losing My Insurance???

Check with the compnay that you now work for. I was laid off due to a company closing and received 4 months of health inssurance and severance pay. So I would check and see if they have set up some kind of package for employees.

K.,

I wanted to check with our insurance broker before I responded to this for you.

First if the company is going out of business - COBRA will not even be an option, COBRA is only an option when a Health Insurance plan is available, when closing they generally do not keep a plan open. If it is a small company Missouri continuation will not apply either.

Second, if your spouse is employed and has Health Benefits available you will be able to join as of the last day of your coverage. Generally you have to wait until "open enrollment" but with a life changing event such as losing your coverage you may join at any time. You will have to provide them with "proof" of loss of coverage - usually a letter from employer stating when your benefits would end. Also in this case your PG would not be considered a pre-existing condition and would be covered - unless his insurance excludes PG.

You would also have the option of picking up a "personal" plan which are never cheap!

Good Luck and best wishes with the baby.

N.

I can tell you from the same thing that happened to me. I was laid off from my job when I was 6 months pregnant and my employer did not have to keep insurance on me. You will have to pay Cobra and it is very expensive. Depending on the number of people in your home nad your income you may qualify for Medicaid. They will cover you at least for your pregnancy, and at 100%.

If your company has less than 55 people (I THINK that's the number) they do not have to particpate in Cobra. But luckily Kansas law mandates that employees and their dependents who meet certain criteria must now be offered continued group benefits for a total of 18 months (it used to be 6 months). You will have to pay the fees but they shouldn't be any more that what you or your employer were paying before. Also, I think you have to have been covered for 90 days prior to termination. Check with your HR person at work. Good luck!

I do know of companies in the past that have offered some kind of package deal to their employees when it closes. This could include insurance coverage for a certain amount of time plus severance pay etc. Check with you Human Resources person. Other then that, I do not know of any laws that state you do not have to pay for Cobra because you are losing your job because the company is closing as opposed to being fired and I have been in the insurance field for over 20 years. Good luck!

I would bee line to your HR dept ASAP and find out. I too am suspicious of this...the only thing I've ever heard about is COBRA. And I would recommend starting to save for it b/c the last time I was on it, it wasn't cheap. Of course there are always the public assistance programs if you qualify...I can highly recommend the WIC program if your family gets in a pinch...it'll at least help the kiddos. I believe that BC/BS has a new program out...they have been advertising it in the KC Metro area as being cheaper than a tank of gas...I think it's like $35/mo for coverage...you might want to check them out. I'm pretty sure it's HMO but I don't know what kind of comprehensive coverage they are offering. Good luck.

Are you married? If so, and if your husband's employer has health insurance he can add you to his insurance even though it may not be enrollment time since you are losing your job & insurance. Whether or not you have to pay will also depend on what his employer provides normally. As for your own employer, as many have said, it will all depend on what your current employer is offering/giving. I'm not aware of anything that requires them to give you anything other than offering COBRA that you pay for.

I haven't heard of this.Better get the details from the insurance company they know what you are needing.My husband quit his job last Novemember and COBRA was outageous we paid out $3,000 to keep it for 3 months and we had an 18 month term but we denied actually he did.I was at lost with 2 kids and myself going without health insurance long story short I became pregnant in June and still no insurance his new job is a UNION company and has yet to hire him on fulltime with benefits to me they never will he is cheap labor sorry to be so blunt.Anyway I now have state of ks health insurance,I had to he works hard and pays the state taxes and that is what it comes out of.You may qualify as well all you have to do is call and apply and since you are pregnant it'll be a faster process for you.The state doesn't want children to go without healthcare coverage.HEALTHWAVE 1-800-792-4884

I have never heard of that kind of law. As far as I know, you have to pay Cobra no matter why you leave your job. That is exactly what cobra is for.

K.,
I was laid off once and had to pay COBRA if I wanted to keep my insurance. If the other girls live in Kansas the can apply for KS health wave while they are pregnant. It will still cover them up until six weeks after they deliver. Once the babies are born they can apply to have the babies covered, they may have to pay $20 a month for the babies to be covered.

You should check with the insurance company. Did you get a booklet when you got the insurance? You should find out things like that in the book. Look the insurance company up online if you didn't get a booklet.

Good Luck

I would first ask the HR person or office manager about it. I wonder about Cobra because they won't be paying for insurance any more if the company is closing (I wouldn't think). So, I wonder if Cobra is even an option to you at this point.

If you are married and your husband's job has insurance available you might check into that ASAP. Since you have a change in job status, I think he should be able to get you on his insurance without waiting for any enrollment dates.

If nothing else, call the MO Department of Labor (or KS if you work there). Hopefully they can at least point you in the right direction. Good luck!!

I've never heard of that "law" either. Follow the advice of these other very helpful ladies and talk with your HR person immediately. If your company is "closing" then there will be no insurance to speak of, so how could they keep paying it for you? Typically, insurance plans that include maternity are at premium rates, so if you have to purchase your own, it is going to be quite costly I'm afraid. Plus, they normally have wait periods (like 1-2 years) because obviously, if you are going to deliver soon, they will be footing a pretty hefty bill. If all else fails, and you will not have insurance, you can and should pre-negotiate your hospital bill in advance. Most people do not realize you can negotiate your bill upfront and prepay it, which will surprisingly save you thousands of dollars. I know, I have done it before!

I think what you are hearing about is COBRA laws... This is a law that states if you or your family are on a employers health insurance plan, that you can continue the coverage by paying the premiums yourself when you leave(no matter the reason for leaving) the place of employment that has those benefits. Which can be quite costly. Also there is a limit on how long you can use COBRA benefits. Below is a link to the government page that talks about this.

http://www.dol.gov/ebsa/compliance_assistance.html

As the others have said - Talk with the HR department and more specifically the Benefits Coordinator - They should know this and your options and help you out, as this is their job....

Also - If COBRA is just out of your pocket book - Then you probably should contact your Doctor and the Hospital you are going to be delivering at and start making financial arrangements that are best for you... Also I know that my husband & I could not afford COBRA benefits when I left my company a couple of years ago and found it cheaper to get benefits on our own thru Blue Cross Blue Shield.