the Price of Health Insurance from COBRA

When I got laid off from my job I had to keep the health insurance because it covered not only me but also my spouse and two children. COBRA coverage allowed me to maintain the coverage but I had to pay the entire cost because my employer was no longer making a contribution toward the amount. The $380 was a monthly charge and covered us for the medical, dental, vision and emergency services that we needed, but we also had to still pay copays of $10 for visits and $12 for prescriptions and up to the deductible if we had a large bill.

The quality of the service didn't change from before I had COBRA, but because we had to pay such a high monthly amount, we went to the doctor and dentist more often than when I had insurance through my work. The insurance company was actually helpful in giving me directions about how to fill out the papers and how to manage our appointments and bills, but the price was just so high that I felt like I was being cheated even though I wasn't. COBRA is a nice option to have when people lose their jobs but it is really not realistic to expect people to be able to aford it.

If there are two s working in your family, make sure that you can transfer the coverage of your kids and family to the other policy if one of you loses your job. Also cut down your coverage to the bare minimum if you are paying through COBRA because that might help save some money for you.