Many people have heard of COBRA insurance but few people actually know how it works.  Essentially COBRA insurance works by allowing someone to choose to keep their employer’s health insurance plan after leaving a job, losing a job, or quitting a job.  It was established to help families and make sure they they didn’t suddenly lose health insurance if someone lost their job.  Under the current federal COBRA insurance regulations, most people who lose or quit their job and work for a company with at least 20 employees who receive health insurance will qualify for COBRA.  This benefit also extends of family members.

Once you sign up and elect COBRA insurance, it works just like your prior health insurance plan did since it is the exact same plan.  You can visit the same doctors, will have the same co-payments and deductibles, and same prescription expenses.  The main difference that you will see with COBRA is that you will now have to pay the entire cost of the insurance plus a 2% administration fee.  For many people this will be 50-75% more than what they paid when they were employed.  The COBRA insurance coverage lasts for 18 months in most circumstances.