State Variations of COBRA Laws
Federal COBRA laws apply only to group health insurance plans with 20 or more employees. The majority of businesses operating in any state do not fall under federal COBRA regulations. Therefore, most states have enacted their own versions of COBRA regulations. These state COBRA laws are often referred to as mini-COBRA. Not all states have mini-COBRA legislation, and the regulations that are in existence may vary substantially from one state to the next.
For information on states with "mini" COBRA variations, please refer to the list below.
Note: The information on and from this page are merely summaries of state variations and are not to be used for determining your legal rights under these laws. Please contact your state's Department of Insurance for complete details. These laws are subject to change and the details on this page may not be current.
Mississippi: Mini-COBRA laws in Minnesota states that an employer with 2-19 employees is obligated to offer COBRA to terminating employees for a period of 12 months.
Missouri: Missouri mini-COBRA laws (revised August 05) requires employers with less than 20 employees to offer COBRA for 9 months as long as they were insured under the group plan for at least 3 months.
Nebraska: Mini-COBRA laws in Nebraska states that an employer with 2-19 employees is obligated to offer COBRA to terminating employees for a period of 6 months.
Nevada: Chapter 689B requires employers with 2-19 employees to offer COBRA for 18 months.
New Hampshire: State Bulletin 711, RE: Chapter 29 laws of 1994 requires employers with 2-19 employees to offer COBRA for 18 months.
New Jersey: Group health plans with 2-19 employees shall offer 18 or 36 months of COBRA continuation coverage. A premium as high as 150% of the premium paid by the employer can be charged to the ex-employee electing COBRA coverage.
New Mexico: Title 13, Chapter 10, Part 11.31 states that persons insured under a group plan with 2-19 employees can qualify for 6 months of continuation coverage.
New York: This is a guaranteed Issue state for health insurance and insurers are required to cover anyone who applies for individual health insurance. In spite of this, New York COBRA laws require employers with less than 20 employees to offer 18 months of continuation coverage.
North Carolina: North Carolina State Continuation laws require employers with 2-19 employees on a group plan to offer continuation coverage for 18 months.
North Dakota: If your employer has less than 20 employees, they will fall under North Dakota state continuation law. Under this state law, a person leaving a group health plan can qualify for up to 39 months of continuation coverage.
Ohio: Continuation of coverage under Ohio state COBRA laws applies to employers with less than 20 employees. To qualify for COBRA, a person must have been on the group plan for at least 3 months and must have not voluntarily have terminated their employment.
Oklahoma: Oklahoma Statute Title 36, Chapter 1, Article 45 states that plans with 2-19 employees can qualify for 1 month of guaranteed continuation.
Oregon: Any employer with 19 or fewer employees must abide by Oregon's continuation-of-coverage policy that calls for a 6 month continuation of coverage under the group health plan.
Rhode Island: Mini-COBRA laws in Rhode Island states that an employer with 2-19 employees is obligated to offer COBRA to terminating employees for a period of 18 months.
South Carolina: Persons insured under an employer's health plan with 2-19 employees can elect to stay on the group plan for 6 months, according to South Carolina continuation of coverage regulations.
South Dakota: Persons insured through a group health insurance policy that has 2-19 employees can opt to stay on the group plan for 18 months.
Tennessee: Continuation of coverage laws in Tennessee requires employers with 2-19 employees to offer COBRA for 3 months.
Texas: Any employer with 19 or fewer employees must abide by Texas continuation-of-coverage policy that calls for a 6 month continuation of coverage under the group health plan.
Utah: Mini-COBRA laws in Utah require that an employer with 2-19 employees must offer COBRA to employees that are leaving the group health plan. The coverage may continue for a period of 6 months.
Vermont: Employees of employers with 2-19 employees can qualify for 6 months of continuation coverage in compliance with Vermont mini-COBRA regulations.
West Virginia: Persons insured under an employer's health plan with 2-19 employees can elect to stay on the group plan for 18 months.
Wisconsin: For persons that were insured under a group health plan with fewer than 20 employees, they may qualify for continuation of coverage privileges up to 18 months from the termination date of their coverage.
Wyoming: Any employer with 2-19 employees must abide by Wyoming continuation-of-coverage policies that require 18 months continuation of coverage.
Please refer to the referenced source for complete details of these laws or for recent updates or amendments to these laws. Always contact your State Department of Insurance for complete details prior to making any decisions based on these laws.