Congress passed the landmark Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act (COBRA) health benefit provisions in 1986.  The law amends the Employee Retirement Income Security Act, the Internal Revenue Code and the Public Health Service Act to provide continuation of group health coverage that otherwise might be terminated

What does COBRA do

COBRA provides certain former employees, retirees, spouses, former spouses, and dependent children the right to temporary continuation of health coverage at group rates.  This coverage, however, is only available when coverage is lost due to certain specific events.  Group health coverage for COBRA participants is usually more expensive than health coverage for active employees, since usually the employer pays a part of the premium for active employees while COBRA participants generally pay the entire premium themselves.  It is ordinarily less expensive, though, than individual health coverage

Who is entitled to benefits under COBRA

Qualifying Events - Qualifying events are certain events that would cause an individual to lose health coverage.  The type of qualifying event will determine who the qualified beneficiaries are and the amount of time that a plan must offer the health coverage to them under COBRA.  A plan, at its discretion,  may provide longer periods of continuation coverage.

Information on the COBRA Premium Subsidy can be found at www.dol.gov/COBRA