COBRA
Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act
Terminated employees or those who lose health, vision or dental plan coverage because of reduced work hours may be able to buy group coverage for themselves and their families for limited periods of time under the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act (COBRA).
If you are entitled to COBRA benefits, you will receive a notice stating your right to choose to continue medical, vision and/or, dental benefits provided by the plan. You have 60 days to accept coverage or lose all rights to benefits. Once COBRA coverage is chosen, you are required to pay for the coverage.
Under COBRA, our group health plan ordinarily is defined as a plan that provides medical, vision and dental benefits for our own employees and their dependents. Benefits provided under the terms of the plan and available to COBRA beneficiaries may include:
- Inpatient and outpatient hospital care
- Physician care
- Surgery and other major medical benefits
- Prescription drugs
- Any other medical benefits, such as dental and vision care
- Life insurance, however, is not covered under COBRA.
Cobra Initial Notice
An initial general notice must be furnished to covered employees, their spouses and newly hired employees informing them of their rights under COBRA and describing provisions of the law. Our COBRA Administrator Inspira Financial is responsible for sending this initial notice.
Read the initial COBRA notice (PDF) to identify your rights and responsibilities under the law.
Beneficiary Coverage
A qualified beneficiary generally is any individual covered by a group health plan on the day before a qualifying event. A qualified beneficiary may be an employee, the employee鈥檚 spouse and dependent children, and in certain cases, a retired employee, the retired employee鈥檚 spouse and dependent children.
Qualifying Events
"Qualifying events" are certain types of events that would cause an individual to lose health plan coverage. The type of qualifying event will determine who the qualified beneficiaries are and the required amount of time that the plan must offer the health coverage to them under COBRA.
The types of qualifying events for employees are:
- Voluntary or involuntary termination of employment for reasons other than "gross misconduct".
- Reduction in the number of hours of employment.
The types of qualifying events for spouses are:
- Termination of the covered employee鈥檚 employment for any reason other than "gross misconduct"
- Reduction in the hours worked by the covered employee
- Covered employee鈥檚 becoming entitled to Medicare
- Divorce or legal separation of the covered employee
- Death of the covered employee
The types of qualifying events for dependent children are the same as for the spouse with one addition:
- Loss of "dependent child" status under the plan rules
How much does COBRA continuation coverage cost?
Generally, each qualified beneficiary may be required to pay the entire cost of continuation coverage. The amount a qualified beneficiary may be required to pay may not exceed 102 percent (or, in the case of an extension of continuation coverage due to a disability, 150 percent) of the cost to the group health plan (including both employer and employee contributions) for coverage of a similarly situated plan participant or beneficiary who is not receiving continuation coverage.
COBRA Premiums
Effective January 1, 2026 through December 31, 2026
Monthly Contributions for Dental Plan Coverage:
Dental PPO*
- Individual: $58.79
- Individual + 1: $127.01
- Family: $187.89
Dental DHMO*
- Individual: $12.36
- Individual + 1: $22.04
- Family: $38.02
*The above premiums exclude the 2% administrative fee.
Monthly contributions for Medical Plan Coverage (includes Vision Coverage):
Consumer Core HDHP*
- Individual: $1,245.12
- Individual + 1: $2,425.47
- Family: $3,626.77
Network Core Plan*
- Individual: $1,563.55
- Individual + 1: $3,006.47
- Family: $4,474.77
Choice Plan*
- Individual: $1,779.11
- Individual + 1: $3,426.02
- Family: $5,101.63
*The above premiums exclude the 2% administrative fee.
Monthly contributions for stand-alone Vision Plan Coverage:
Vision Plan: Aetna Vision Preferred Plan*
- Individual: $4.09
- Individual + 1: $7.85
- Family: $12.71
*The above premiums exclude the 2% administrative fee.
Benefits Disclaimer
The HR/Benefits website is intended only to provide information for the guidance of 91视频 employees. The writers of the content have exercised their best efforts to ensure accuracy of the information, but accuracy is not guaranteed. If there are any discrepancies between the information on the website, verbal representations and the Plan documents, the Plan documents will always govern. The information is subject to change from time to time, and the University reserves the right to change or terminate these Plans at any time. The information contained on the website is not intended to replace the plan documents, nor is the information in any way intended to imply a contract.