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How does Cobra health insurance work?

On Friday, my mom got laid off. She worked for Radioshack for 29 years and they handed her a final paycheck, and told her she needed to be out of her office by 6 o clock. They also told her that her health insurance was cut off as of midnight that night. On the paycheck they gave her, she had all of her normal deductions taken out, for medical, dental, etc. She covers herself, my little sister who is 16, and my dad. My dad is self employed, so their insurance is totally through my mom. Her severance package is for 16 weeks. But, now they don't have insurance, and we haven't received anything about Cobra yet. Can they cut her benefits off at midnight? Don't they at least have to cover my family until they are offered Cobra coverage? I've heard that Cobra is expensive, how much is it going to be to cover my mom, dad, and little sister? Also, I heard from somebody that with the new Obama administration, they have passed, or are trying to pass, that the employer has to pay for 50% of Cobra, is that true? What are my parents options? We're in Idaho if that helps Thanks! I appreciate all the answers and 10 points for the most informative one!

Public Comments

1. ~~Was your mom employed by the main company of Radio Shack, or an independent franchise store? If there were 20 or more employees, then by law they have to give her the Cobra Option, if less than 20 it's not a law to offer it. It's impossible to say how much more it will cost her because every policy is different. She would have to pay the part she was already paying as well as what the company was paying, and that is why the cost is so high for the person paying for Cobra. President Obama passed legislation which will help people in your mom's situation, as the extra cost of the premium can be subsidized by the government. Go to www.whitehouse.gov and put Cobra in the search box. It should explain how to get this help. Have her contact her H.R. department and request information on the Cobra option as well, they will also need to provide her with the information. Hope things get better, best of luck!~~
2. Since your mom was laid off, she should be eligible for the employer subsidy of 65%. Here is a link that will answer your questions. It could take 45 days for her to receive the COBRA paperwork, but the coverage once paid for, is retroactive back to her termination date. http://www.dol.gov/ebsa/faqs/faq_consumer_cobra.html http://www.dol.gov/ebsa/faqs/faq-cobra-premiumreductionEE.html
3. hi! i have found this site to be useful.chek it out materi referensi:
4. COBRA is an extension of benefits. what ever plan / co-pay / deductible you had before will be the same. the rate is the same the employer was charged, plus 2% for admin fee. (a call to HR at radioshack should be able to tell her what the cost will be) don't worry about the delay ... once you elect and pay for cobra there will be no gap in coverage. If she was let go on Friday the 3rd ... she should be covered until the end of the month. You should get a COBRA notice within the next 30 days. those of you who are health, should perhaps seek anindividuall plan. call a local agent to help you shop the market
5. 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. There are three elements to qualifying for COBRA benefits. COBRA establishes specific criteria for plans, qualified beneficiaries, and qualifying events: Plan Coverage - Group health plans for employers with 20 or more employees on more than 50 percent of its typical business days in the previous calendar year are subject to COBRA. Both full and part-time employees are counted to determine whether a plan is subject to COBRA. Each part-time employee counts as a fraction of an employee, with the fraction equal to the number of hours that the part-time employee worked divided by the hours an employee must work to be considered full time. Qualified Beneficiaries - A qualified beneficiary generally is an individual covered by a group health plan on the day before a qualifying event who is either an employee, the employee's spouse, or an employee's dependent child. In certain cases, a retired employee, the retired employee's spouse, and the retired employee's dependent children may be qualified beneficiaries. In addition, any child born to or placed for adoption with a covered employee during the period of COBRA coverage is considered a qualified beneficiary. Agents, independent contractors, and directors who participate in the group health plan may also be qualified beneficiaries. 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.
6. Canyon, Health insurance can be very tricky. Since I live in Utah I'm not familiar with the Idaho regulations, so I recommend you visit a local health insurance agent. http://www.americaschoicetoday.com/Health-Insurance.html They should be able to help you.