If you’ve read this blog before you know I’ve often railed against COBRA.Hey, it cost me over $10K the year I had it just for the privilege of paying a co-pay at the Doctor’s office.That said, as a plan of last resort to bridge your insurance between jobs or between insurance plans, it should not be discounted, but until recently, I have recommended finding another alternative to COBRA just as fast as possible. While I generally advocate

high deductible health plans with health savings accounts (HSA) as a reasonable and prudent decision for most, recent legislation makes COBRA worth a much closer look.

The problem traditionally with COBRA, was that if your employer was subsidizing your insurance, and if you then left your job, you had to pick up 102% of the cost of your plan’s premiums. For many people this is just not practical or sustainable but for a very limited numbers of months. However, new legislation, provides that Uncle Sam will pick up 65% of your COBRA premium, so a plan that until a few months would have cost say $1,000 per month, now costs roughly $350 per month. This represents a huge savings and likely makes COBRA competitive, and maybe even better than some plans you could purchase in the individual market.

A smart consumer still needs to do their homework and explore all their options, but COBRA is now a contender. If you are thinking about the COBRA option, make sure you understand the process for initiating its implementation as you have to meet certain criteria in order to be able to access it.