So i got a letter today regarding cobra election. The monthly amount from optum does not reflect what i am currently you paying at all. If about four times the amount. What should i do??
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@jt no. Of you don’t need it or paid for it then forget it
Do I need to take COBRA if I already have Tricare? I never used Centene insurance
Are people comparing the cobra rate with what they could get on the open market? Sometimes those plans are cheaper.
If you are eligible and you timely elect COBRA continuation coverage, the company will subsidize your COBRA premium payment for the number of months specified on your Personalized Statement or until you are no longer eligible for COBRA (whichever comes sooner).
You will be charged the same amount as is charged to active employees for similar coverage, rather than the full COBRA premium amount. The Company will pay the remainder of the COBRA premium amount. For any remaining period of COBRA eligibility after the subsidy has been exhausted, you will be solely responsible for paying the entire
COBRA premium for the coverage elected.
Within a few weeks of your separation date, you will receive additional information regarding COBRA rights from the Company’s third-party COBRA administrator.
@bw The subsidy did make the amount I owed Optum the same as what I was paying as an employee per month. The subsidy I received was for 6 months, and after that the full price of COBRA would apply (at which point I will move to a Marketplace plan, which is more cost effective for me). Hope that helps.
@ak how much was the subsidy was the amount the same as what you were paying while you were employed
@b0 it’s taken me 2 weeks to reach someone to get a Medicare form completed to be able to sign up since I am over 65 and now waiting for it to be emailed back to me after reaching a live person finally. Creating an account to another place to upload the damn form. This is a total cluster fu-k.
@ak it did not include a subsidy and it is dated the first day of my vsp! This is the first letter i got thus far. So maybe there will be another letter coming along! Thank you for your information
Did it have the subsidy amount included yet? My last day was in April, and the first letter I got from Optum reflected the full price. A couple weeks later I got the letter with the “subsidy” from Centene included. I did not make a payment to Optum until that amount was reflected.
I left Centene on a voluntary resignation and nearly fell over when I saw the monthly Cobra amount (for myself…no dependents). Not sure if it’s different for those on VSP or ISP, but for me, it was nearly $900 per month. I passed, and just lived on a wing and a prayer until the new job came along.
@a1 within the vsp release Centene would continue to pay their portion and i would pay my current elections until the timeframes listed. I tried to call optum but they are closed. Go figure
If you're relatively healthy, just go without until you get your next job.
Consider it incentive to be as diligent as possible with the job search.
Roll the dice...chances are, in this situation, you'll win.
That may actually be correct. With COBRA, you usually pay the full cost of the health plan - both the portion you were paying through payroll and the portion the employer was previously paying - plus up to a 2% administrative fee. That can make the monthly premium several times higher than what was coming out of your paycheck.
I would still call Optum and your former employer's benefits/HR department to verify the amount, especially if your severance package included any COBRA subsidy or continued benefits. Also compare the COBRA cost with an ACA Marketplace plan before you elect it, since losing employer coverage normally gives you a special enrollment opportunity.