Leaving job and gap in insurance

[cherry1111]

My H left his job voluntarily on 10/25. He started his new job yesterday (10/28) but his benefits don’t kick in for 30 days.

I could put him on my insurance for the month but I think I remember and google seemed to confirm he is eligible for COBRA even though he left voluntarily AND we could just see if he needs it during the 30 day gap instead of electing to pay the premium now.

I feel like we’re playing with fire without insurance for 30 days so I would feel more comfortable with confirmation that the above would work.

[wildrice]

That's usually how it works, but I would have him check with his HR just to be absolutely certain. Do it via email so there is a paper trail.

[Susie]

Check with his HR about eligibility for COBRA, and also whether he would be eligible to retroactively elect COBRA if needed.

When MH made a job transition a few years ago, his new role had a 7 week waiting period for benefits.  He was carrying the whole family's insurance at the time.  Retroactive COBRA was available, so we decided we'd try to go without, and we'd retroactively elect if we had to.  

We ended up privately paying for a doctor's appointment and meds for a kiddo with pink eye during the 7 weeks, but it was still much cheaper than paying the COBRA premiums for the whole family.  There was no penalty when we filed income taxes because the period of no coverage was short, and ended when the new job benefits picked up.

[wanderingback]

Yes. HR should be able to give him info about COBRA. And yes you have 60 days to elect in it so don’t have to sign up right away and it can be retroactive.

[Covergirl82]

I used to do benefits administration, however, it's been 15 years since I was in a job with that responsibility. My understanding is that COBRA has not changed the election rule, meaning that you can wait the full waiting period to elect, and then coverage would retro back to the loss date. But you could have your H confirm with HR from his former employer.

As Susie said, you could compare costs for private/cash pay to the COBRA cost if a medical need arises within the just over month's time gap in insurance. Usually COBRA is rather pricey, so low-acuity medical needs might be cheaper to pay out of pocket.

[sadlebred]

Covergirl82 I recently did COBRA (and am still on it). That's correct.

[sillygoosegirl]

My understanding is that coverage can be retroactively elected for up to 60 days, whether through your employer or COBRA or the market, BUT what I'm not so sure about is whether you'll see a tax penalty for the lack of coverage at tax season. That might be a reason enough to pay up front for coverage during the gap. Also, he should be sure to check what his actual coverage end date from the old job is... depending on how the company structures things, he might have coverage until the last of the month or even until the last day of the month of his last paycheck, which might not be until the following month. There might or might not be a true gap.

[sadlebred]

It looks like the penalty may have expired.

www.healthcare.gov/health-coverage-exemptions/exemptions-from-the-fee/