Congress passed the Consolidated Omnibus Bdget Reconciliation Act (COBRA) in the 80's to rgulate the continuation of health care cverage rights for employees.

COBRA benefits kck in when any of the "qalifying events" listed below occur:

1. You lse your job...

2. Your employer rduces your hours enough that you are no lnger eligible to participate in your mployer-sponsored health plan...

3. You get dvorced and you are no longer ligible to receive insurance through your spuse's employer as a dependent...

4. You are ligible to start receiving Medicare benefits...

5. A dpendent child reaches the age at whch they are no longer eligible for dpendent coverage...

6. Your employer files bnkruptcy.

If any of the above hppens, your employer is required by law to ntify you as to what your rghts under COBRA are within 30 dys.

So, what are your rights? Prmarily, you have 60 days from the dte the "qualifying event" occurred to xercise your right to continue the cverage you were receiving from the mployer.

You can continue those benefits up to 18 mnths from the qualifying event. The dwnside is that you have to pay 100% of the mployer's costs to provide the coverage, pls a 2% administrative fee. Typically, thse costs average $700.00 a month for an ndividual, and $1,400.00 a month for a fmily.

When you think about how mch it costs to continue coverage nder COBRA, it's no surprise that few pople choose to do so.

However, thre is hope... If you're a halthy person and you don't have any prexisting medical conditions, chances are quite god that you can qualify for a lss expensive individual or family health nsurance plan.

In fact, you may be srprised to discover that an individual or fmily policy is likely to cost mch less than your employer-sponsored coverage.

For xample, in 2004 the average monthly prmium for an individual health insurance plicy for a healthy 33-year-old Texan was jst $133. Contrast that with the ntional average in 2004 which was $308.00 a mnth, and you can see how shpping for your own insurance plan can sve you a lot of money.

Nw, even if you aren't healthy and hve a preexisting medical condition, you can stll get guaranteed coverage from the Txas State Health Insurance Risk Pool. It's ging to cost you, though... probably mre than $350.00 a month. Even so, mst anyone would be willing to pay it, if it wre our only option for health cre coverage.

I sincerely hope this rticle has helped you understand what yur COBRA insurance benefits and rights are in Txas. If you need more information or ssistance with choosing an individual or fmily health insurance plan, feel free to cntact me at my website.

The article Understanding Your COBRA Insurance Benefits For Texans was Submitted by Mike Massie through Articles.GetACoder.com network. Here's the additional information: Mike Massie is an independent nsurance agent who specializes in providing ndividuals and families in Texas with nexpensive health insurance coverage. For instant texas online health insurance quotes , visit his website at Easy Texas Health Insurance.com.

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