As the number of unemployed workers continues to increase every month, people who have lost their jobs find themselves with many questions about unemployment, including what their options are for health insurance now that they are out of work. A quick look at insurance quotes online will show that the premiums on individual insurance policies can be very expensive and financially burdensome to someone who is already struggling to pay rent/mortgage and bills. And an online insurance quote may become even higher when dependents require coverage as well.

For workers who become unemployed, there’s another option: the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act, or COBRA. This gives you the right to carry your previous group health insurance coverage from your employer for up to 18 months. Unlike when you were employed, you must pay the full premium, but most workers find that it is less than individual premiums for similar coverage.

According to the Insurance Information Institute, COBRA is available to people who leave their jobs or become unemployed, as well as to widows/widowers of an employee who died while working for the same company for at least three years, divorced spouses/children of an employee who left the company after being employed for at least three years, and children under 23 of employees who left a job. However, the employer must complete the required paperwork within 60 days of leaving his or her job to become eligible for COBRA benefits.

If you were previously enrolled in a health plan through your job, you may be able to avoid the premiums associated with an individual policy. Insurance online quote services may not alert you to the COBRA option, so be sure to investigate it with your previous employer as soon as possible.

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