“Well,” Alan said, “one option is to continue the coverage that you’re already on. A law called COBRA allows you to do this for up to 18 months. You’ll have to pay the entire cost of the premium, plus 2%. In your case, we paid your premium of $300 a month for your coverage. That means you’ll have to pay $306 a month for your coverage. You’ll have the exact same coverage as people who are still on the policy here.”

Maria looked relieved for a second, but then furrowed her brow and asked, “But what do I do after those 18 months are over? Am I just out of luck?”

Alan told her that when the COBRA coverage ended, a state law called Cal-COBRA began. She could continue her coverage for another 18 months if she needed to, but the monthly premium would go up to 110% of what other employees paid, which, in her case, was $330. He also explained that her coverage would end earlier if she failed to pay premiums on time, got other health coverage, moved out of the plan’s area, or if Ophiotech stopped offering health coverage to its employees.

“This sounds perfect,” Maria said. “I’ll be able to afford those premiums with the money I make freelancing. How do I sign up?”

Alan told her, “You’ll get a notice in the mail within 44 days. It will give you instructions and tell you where you need to pay premiums. Be sure to reply to it promptly and start paying premiums on time. When you’re about to switch from COBRA to Cal-COBRA, you’ll get another letter explaining the increase in premiums and what you need to do to continue your coverage.”

“Great,” Maria said. “Thanks so much!”

Everything went just as Alan said it would. The freelancing went very well and she was able to pay her premiums. After 22 months of COBRA and Cal-COBRA coverage, though, Maria began looking for a full time job. She was able to find one quickly, and she would begin getting health coverage after a sixth month service wait. This meant that while she would begin work in April, she wouldn’t get health coverage until October. She went back and looked at the letters she had received about COBRA and Cal-COBRA to figure out what to do. The letters said that she would be allowed to keep her continuation coverage until her health coverage from the new job began in October. The letter also explained when and how she needed to tell the health plan that her continuation coverage was ending. She followed all of the rules and her continuation coverage ended in October.