anyone on COBRA?

Cobra, SSD and Medicaid
I don't know a lot, but I can tell you what I do know from my own experiences with Cobra, SSD and Medicaid thus far into my cancer journey...

In early July 2010 I was diagnosed to have a large tumor in my colon needing removed surgically. Two days later, my husband was laid off from his job and told his health benefits would end on July 31st. I had to purchase Cobra for myself to assure we could deal with my medical expenses going forward. Since neither my husband nor myself was employed, we couldn't afford coverage for anyone but me and it cost approx $130monthly for just myself. As soon as I had the surgery done, I canceled the Cobra as we couldn't afford it anymore and I thought I was on the path to health, with my tumor labeled benign and removed. There is a clause that Cobra continues for six months with no payment after cancellation for the medical issue(s) being treated when canceled, so my coverage went on for six months, covering followups with surgeon and such.

When I was diagnosed with cancer in early Feb, I immediately applied for Medicaid, as we had no insurance or money (still no jobs)...I'm still awaiting red tape to complete the process of approval But, I am assured the approval will come as we meet income/asset guidelines.

After completing all the filings for Medicaid I was able to turn my energies over to applying for SSD, which ended up being much easier to do than the Medicaid. I got a call after only one month saying I was approved! Unfortunately, they do have a five month waiting period for which no payment is given so I won't see any actual benefit until July. Good thing about SSD, if you are disabled and have kids under eighteen and in school, they get benefits too!

Lastly, one of the form letters I received from Medicaid stated that if you are eligible for SSD, you are also eligible for Medicaid.

Hope that helps some,
Janine

Added:
You can apply online for Medicaid and SSD but I found it helpful to do it sitting down with a case worker...they are more helpful in promoting your case for quicker action if they're invested by meeting you and I don't think the online forms provide any way to state the extreme need for timeliness that stage4 cancer dx implies.

lisa42 said:

COBRA
Hi,

I was on COBRA for 36 months. I live in California and I got regular COBRA health benefits for 18 months, then it transferred to CalCOBRA ( state program). I had assumed all states had the extra 18 months, but maybe not. Where do you live? Make sure you ask about that. It would be called something else if you're not in California. The "Cal" is for California.
My 36 months expired May 1st & so now I am on a "guaranteed" plan through the same health insurance company (Health Net). I pay $909 a month for just me- definitely not cheap, but I'm glad to have insurance.
Check out and google info in your state to see if there are any more options for you so you don't have a gap.

Best wishes-
Lisa

Cobra
I am currently on cobra and SSDI. Since I qualifyed for SSDI I was able to get an 11 month extension of cobra benefits beyond the original 18 months. The 11 months will cover the gap until I qualify for medicare. The only hitch is you must be declared disabled within 60 days of starting cobra. I applied for SSDI shortly after dx. I planned on going back to work but things just didn't go that way. I didn't have any problems getting the SSDI and am fortunate that the cancer treatment center I go to has a program that helps me afford my cobra payments. Hope this information helps.
Deb

I am on COBRA right now.
I am on COBRA right now. It's very expensive. I pay almost 700 a month just for myself. Ouch. But thank goodness at the same time.