Hi everyone and welcome back to Money Girls Quick and Dirty Tips for a richer life. I'm Laura Adams. When I say COBRA, do you conjure up a vision of a scary snake being hypnotized by a guy playing a flute?

Well, when it comes to health care, COBRA is something very different. In fact, it's

what you'll need if you get bitten by a snake after you leave your job. In this podcast,

I'll tell you who's eligible for COBRA, how to get it, and how to make it more affordable.

COBRA is an acronym that stands for Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act.

Even though the name of the law doesn't mention anything about health care or insurance.

It provides a temporary continuation of group health benefits that would ordinarily be cancelled when you leave a job.

COBRA insurance gives you the exact same benefits and choices you had before you left your company.

In order to receive COBRA benefits, you and your employer must meet certain criteria.

Your employer must provide a group health plan and have at least 20 or more employees on the

payroll. Employees and independent contractors who participate in a group health

plan are eligible for Comer benefits when they voluntarily leave a job, have

their work hours cut so they lose benefits, or are terminated for any reason other

than gross misconduct.

Spouses and dependent children of former employees can also receive COBRA benefits when the covered worker dies

is eligible for Medicare or gets legally separated or divorced.

Additionally, children can receive COBRA benefits when they're no longer a dependent of the covered

worker according to the rules of the group health plan.

In order to receive COBRA coverage, employees must notify their Human Resources Department or the employee

who administers health insurance within 30 days after one of the events that I mentioned,

such as a termination or a cut in work hours.

Beneficiaries of a qualified worker have up to 60 days to elect COBRA coverage after a qualifying

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