For example, when I resigned from my nursing job with Florida Hospitals, I wasn’t eligible for COBRA health insurance. One option may be “special enrollment” in other group health coverage. COBRA beneficiaries have 60 days to decide whether they want COBRA coverage. You’ll have 60 days to enroll in a health plan, even outside of the annual open enrollment period. COBRA, which stands for the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act, provides temporary insurance coverage. You’ll have 60 days to enroll in COBRA — or another health plan — once your benefits end. Q. I’m planning to leave my job to become self-employed in April.My insurance will end on April 30, but I have an option to take COBRA. How long do you have to enroll after your triggering event? How long do I have to elect COBRA coverage? But keep in mind that delaying enrollment won’t save you money. If you have an event that you need coverage, Cobra will back-date up to 60 days. If you or your dependent elects COBRA continuation coverage, you will have another opportunity to request special enrollment in a group health plan or a Marketplace plan if you have a new special enrollment event, such as marriage, the birth of a child, or if you exhaust your continuation coverage. It’s highly recommended that you start the enrollment process as soon possible; within 1-2 weeks of your event. The criteria for this 11-month disability extension is a complex area of COBRA law. If you are entitled to elect COBRA coverage, you must be given an election period of at least 60 days (starting on the later of the date you are furnished the election notice or the date you would lose coverage) to choose whether or not to elect continuation coverage. If you decide not to take COBRA coverage, you can enroll in a Marketplace plan instead. If you enroll in COBRA before the 60 days are up, your coverage is then retroactive, as long as you pay the retroactive premiums. That means you have 60 days from your termination date to enroll in a qualified health plan. Do I qualify for a special enrollment period to get an individual plan in the exchange as of May 1, or do I have to take COBRA? You have 60 days from the date you lost coverage or when you were sent an election notice from the employer or plan administrator--whichever date was later. Those entitled to elect COBRA continuation coverage may have more affordable or generous alternatives for coverage. Being on COBRA after age 65 is like hiking in the woods. You can't do it in the way that it is done at other companies. Because COBRA does not count as insurance from active employment, you will not be protected from delayed coverage and late penalties if you wait to enroll in Medicare later than you should. Just ask any of the five beneficiaries I talked to last week. COBRA stands for the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act. Under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), upon certain events, group health plans and health insurance issuers are required to provide a special enrollment period. We provide general information below, but if you have any questions regarding your disability and public sector COBRA, we encourage you to email us at phig@cms.hhs.gov. COBRA is different. The only down-side to back-dating is sometimes dealing with the medical providers as they will have to re-submit to the insurance once your Cobra application has been approved. The Special Enrollment Period for the Marketplace is open to those who are losing employer-based coverage. This had nothing to do with me; it was because my former employer, Florida Hospitals, is part of Adventist Healthcare, an organization run by the Seventh Day Adventist Church. Not everyone enrolls the same way. This means you have 60 days to enroll in a health plan, even if it’s outside the annual Open Enrollment Period. You need to enroll in the way that a person enrolls for the corporate policy at this company. If I leave my job, how long do I have to activate COBRA health insurance coverage? I'm not sure why you "definitely" want this. One advantage of enrolling right away is that you can keep seeing doctors and filling prescriptions without a break in … How long do I have to elect COBRA coverage?