COBRA, which stands for “Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act,” is a federal law that requires group health plans to provide a temporary continuation of group health coverage that otherwise might be terminated due to certain specific “qualifying events.”
COBRA requires continuation coverage to be offered to covered employees, their spouses, former spouses, and dependent children when group health coverage would otherwise be lost COBRA is often more expensive than the amount that active employees are required to pay for group health coverage since the employer usually pays part of the cost of employees’ coverage and all of that cost can be charged to individuals receiving continuation coverage.
