How quickly are insurance companies supposed to provide COBRA information after your insurance ends?

I had active insurance until November 2010. Now, the insurance company is saying that it was actually cancelled through my husband's company in June and are requesting the monies back from doctors. However, they didn't even send out COBRA information to me until November 23. Can they do this?How quickly are insurance companies supposed to provide COBRA information after your insurance ends?How, exactly, did it come to be that your husband's company cancelled his insurance in June?



If the EMPLOYER cancelled the group plan, and no longer has health insurance, then there IS no cobra. Cobra is just a CONTINUATION of whatever the people still employed, have for insurance. If they have nothing, there's nothing to continue.



If the employer sends the COBRA information late, the date they mailed it, starts the clock ticking on the 60 days you have to accept or decline. So, you're within DAYS, and if you WANT to keep it, you can - the catch is, you have to RETROACTIVELY pay your premium for the insurance. There's no "free insurance". So, that would be July through January, and February's payment would be due February 1st.



Yes, they can do this. They're SUPPOSED to notify you within 45 days. Their failure to do that, gives you EXTRA TIME to decide if you want to keep it or not.How quickly are insurance companies supposed to provide COBRA information after your insurance ends?Insurance companies are not supposed to send out COBRA information, not quickly, slowly, or at any other speed. Your husband's employer (or former employer), not the insurance company, is supposed to send the COBRA information.



Technically, you have 60 days from when the COBRA information is sent to make your decision about COBRA, and 60 days from November 23 is January 22, so you still have time.



Until (1) you do elect COBRA, and (2) you pay the premiums, the insurance company can (and probably must) do everything that it would do if you decided that you did not want COBRA.



After (1) you do elect COBRA (if you do so before the deadline), and (2) you pay the premiums, the insurance company is supposed to pay the doctors, not before.How quickly are insurance companies supposed to provide COBRA information after your insurance ends?Insurance companies don't send COBRA info. The company does. Hopefully you've already paid the premium and aren't asking this question at the deadline. If not you'd better find out where the bill needs to be sent and get it overnighted. They have 45 days to notify you and did it in a timely manner for sure.