If you had been receiving health insurance coverage through COBRA, termination of your benefits is an inevitable eventuality that you must most surely face. Until now, you had been enjoying the benefits of continued health coverage from your former employer. But COBRA, as mandated by government law, is intended only to help ex-employees \”bridge the gap\” until you find new health insurance coverage on your own.

If you have not been able to obtain insurance coverage through a new employer by the time COBRA termination of coverage s set to occur, then you will need to explore other options. If you are married, perhaps you may need to become a dependent on his or her employer\’s insurance plan, if available.

Obtaining your own private, individual insurance plan is your other option.

As you may have no doubt already discovered first-hand, individual health insurance can be significantly more expensive than the group insurance plans offered by employers. You have experienced this already first-hand with COBRA, having to pay the entire cost of insurance coverage on your own. And you will experience this again when your COBRA termination takes effect and you must go out shopping for private insurance.

COBRA termination can be a time of uncertainty if you have always been accustomed to receiving insurance benefits through an employer.

The good news is that COBRA termination may actually end up saving you money. When it comes to shopping around for private health insurance, you have a much greater array of options in terms of health plans to choose from. In some cases, these may end up saving you money over what you were paying under your COBRA insurance plan.

When shopping around for your own private health insurance plan, you get to pick and choose the health insurance that is custom-tailored and priced according to your specific needs. Most employers typically only allow you to choose from one or two plan options from the same health insurance provider. Buying your own health insurance gives you a great deal of freedom and flexibility. This alone might be an excellent incentive to get an early jump start on COBRA termination and making the switch to your own private health insurance provider.

COBRA is not always your best option. It is, in truth, really in place as a temporary measure. Due to the fact that you must now pay the entire premium on your own, it may no longer be the most cost-effective option available to you.

COBRA exists under the auspices of the federal government as a protectionist measure, so that employees who are terminated from work are not left out on the cold without any type of health insurance coverage. COBRA is an acronym for \”Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act\”, which is a federal law that was passed in 1986. It is an unemployment benefit, similar to getting unemployment checks. But the intent is clearly not for you to remain on it forever. That is why the government also imposes strict time limits after which you lose your eligibility to maintain coverage under COBRA.

Not sure which option is right for you? Compare health plans now and get a free insurance quote at http://www.CompareHealthPlans.info or check out the following article for more information:
http://ezinearticles.com/?COBRA-Termination—How-to-Maintain-Health-Coverage-After-COBRA-Expires&id=1820239

Not sure which option is right for you? Compare health plans now and get a free insurance quote at http://www.CompareHealthPlans.info or check out the following article for more information:
http://ezinearticles.com/?COBRA-Termination—How-to-Maintain-Health-Coverage-After-COBRA-Expires&id=1820239

Author Bio: Not sure which option is right for you? Compare health plans now and get a free insurance quote at http://www.CompareHealthPlans.info or check out the following article for more information:
http://ezinearticles.com/?COBRA-Termination—How-to-Maintain-Health-Coverage-After-COBRA-Expires&id=1820239

Category: Finances
Keywords: insurance,health,medical,ppo,hmo,cobra,deductible,copay,coinsurance