Cal-COBRA Transferability
If someone moves to another state (New York City) and is on Cal-COBRA, how does that work? Do they loose their COBRA Insurance? What are their options?
This would be a question better directed to your COBRA administrator, or your health insurance company. It depends on the type of plan you are covered under. If you are on CalCOBRA, and you move outside of that health plan’s service area, your CalCOBRA will terminate. Your COBRA administrator, or health insurance company, can tell you if you are moving outside of the plan’s service area. CalCOBRA is essentially a continuation of your previous group health plan. If that plan offers no coverage in New York, then your health plan is useless. If you are moving to New York, there is a good chance that you will be outside of your plan’s service area. New York operates differently when it comes to health insurance. They are what is referred to as a “guaranteed issue” state. This means that all residents of the state are eligible for health insurance coverage, regardless of their health status. From what we understand, the premiums can be excessive, so you might want to contact a New York health insurance agent for more information. A list of agencies or agent referral services in New York is available by going to the Individual Health Insurance directory on our website. You can also contact Empire Blue Cross http://www.empireblue.com, since they are one of the primary insurance carriers in that state.
Hi. Can COBRA be used for medical expenses when you are moving to a new state? I am 7 months pregnant and live with my husband in California. My husband is looking and applying for jobs in Atlanta. We don’t know if he will get a job there or if so when he will be asked to start. If I were to give birth while we still live in California, then he would still be employed with his current company and we would be insured with Blue Shield insurance. But on the other hand, if we move before that happens, then we would need insurance for me and our baby. Will COBRA be able to cover us for the birth or do we need to look into other means of coverage? Right now the situation is so that we may be asked to move in 30 days or so at two weeks notice.
Comment by Megan — June 9, 2009 @ 10:48 pm