Cobra Medical Care Insurance Vs. Individual Or

While COBRA insurance is a great option for many people, people too often take their COBRA option when they should not. When compared to private medical care coverage, COBRA can be pricey, it can end too early and it can put someone else in control of your policy.

COBRA is often too costly

COBRA is s short-term solution

COBRA is under someone else's control

COBRA is often too pricey

The COBRA law gives you the right to be covered by a group assurance policy. One of the biggest misconceptions families have about medical care coverage is that group coverage policies are less pricey than individual and/or family healthcare insurance policies that you can acquire on your own. Although this is sometimes true, it is not usually. In many states, health assurance costs more if bought through an employer.

This is because of the cost of governmental mandates that apply to group healthcare insurance policies that do not apply to family or individual medical care insurance policies. A company offering a group insurance policy may have to offer a policy to anyone regardless of their healthcare history. Insurance companies cannot drop an insured person from their individual medical assurance policy simply because their health has gotten worse after they left their job, but they will not accept unhealthy applicants. This can mean that the insurance company's costs are much higher for their group assurance policies than for their individual and/or family medical care insurance policies.

You may be offered the group assurance policy that you had before your employment ended and/or if your company has made changes in the policies, they offer to their current employees, it may be a different medical care plan.

COBRA is s short-term solution

In most situations, COBRA can be kept for a maximum of 18 months, however in certain situations, this time period can be extended to 36 months. This may mean that your coverage may end at the time when you need it the most. A good individual healthcare coverage policy can cover you until you reach the age of 65.

You may be healthy enough to qualify for a long-term medical care coverage policy when your job ends but not 18 months later. If you or someone in your family contract an illness or have an accident that keeps you from buying a policy at the end of your COBRA eligibility

COBRA is under someone else's control

When you mail in your COBRA payments, you do not send them directly to your insurer. However this happens rarely, sometimes a former employer will keep money and fail to pay the insurance company.

If your company changes the plans that are offered to their current employees, they may also change the plans available to those eligible for health care coverage because they have taken the COBRA option. This may mean that your plan may not cover you as well as it used to. You might suddenly be in the position of having a costly policy that no longer covers you well.

Scenarios where COBRA is better than individual and/or family medical care insurance:

When COBRA is much less expensive than a family or individual Insurance policy

A family or individual medical care insurance plan is not available to you

You are guaranteed a medical care Insurance plan before your COBRA eligibility ends.

There are situations where COBRA is a better option than a family or individual health coverage policy. If you cannot acquire a medical plan on your own at a good rate and you find that, your COBRA is being offered at a good price COBRA may be your best options. This of course is also true if you are not able to get a COBRA plan because of a pre-existing medical issue. Another situation when COBRA may be a good option is if you will be eligible for Medicare or some other healthcare plan before your COBRA eligibility will be over.