I have read about how laid off employees need to get on with their lives and not troll here. I got the zoom interview a few months ago, to be honest I was surprised, thought I was a good worker, I knew I was an older worker. Anyway, just a warning, I signed up my spouse for cobra next year. In 2025 Aetna PPO Cobra will by $802 a month for one person. Layoffs happen, you need healthcare, be prepared if your number is called
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Sign up for your ACA soon since it will be gone by 2025. Americans just voted in a political party which voted 60(SIXTY!) times to get rid of ACA/Obamacare. Smart. Now we need to pay a minimum of $1000 for catastrophic plans, get kicked off plans when you get a serious illness, get denied applying for other medical insurance due to 'pre-existing conditions', and finally of course even more bankruptcies due to medical bills.
After I retired from Dell(over 1 year after being PIP'ed for old age(53!), I had an option for Cobra at over $800. I used it for one month and choose an ACA/Obamacare plan for the same benefits. It has cost me between $100-$250 a month for the last several years. But sadly it is going away since Trump and the GOP wants everyone on private Cobra plans paying $1000+ for plans that kick you off when u get serious illness. Thank you!
my cobra is $700 for just me, or $2400 for family of four.... WTF, but yah, dell gave me a consolation prize of 2 months of paid cobra and 1 week of severance per year loyalty.... so I have until like June next year until it all runs out... yah 25 fu--ing years and they lofted me out like a used co---m.... without a care in the world.... I was prepared to retire from Dell in 4 or 5 years... still giving it my all even with all the signs there that they could give a rats a-s about employees, they pretend really well though, but in the end, all their DEI and other cr-p is all to avoid lawsuits....
I just got a bill from WellAtDell for my COBRA. I still have 1 month left of my 2mo? Just what I need is to hunt down why.
There are several things to consider when deciding to extend Cobra or not.
- Take the 2 months free Cobra that Dell offers.
- ACA Plans rates are mostly based on income level. So if you are laid off in say September, your income is going to probably be too high to qualify for subsidies. In this case extending Dell Cobra may be the best option.
- If you are in the middle of a medical procedure (think Cancer or Knee Replacement etc...) Then extending Cobra may provide a better option.
- If you are going to Retire (like I did). Then extending Cobra to the end of the year was my option then moving over to an ACA plan.
- There are "alternative" to insurance options out there. I didn't look very hard at these but you can certainly google it and find what may be available in your area.
In short consider your income level when investigating options. Remember that Unemployment and Social Security are considered income so factor that in as well.
Try doing a sample Tax return without your Dell salary to see what your Adjusted Gross Income may look like. I did this using my Turbo Tax Software and got an idea what my Income would look like so that when I went looking at ACA plans I had info to consider.
Take the 2 months $0 COBRA they extended when tossing us out. Use the time to line up replacement coverage & look for a new job.
How about if you fly to Cancun, get hammered drunk on the beach for a week, then walk back up to the border. Pretend your illegal when you meet the border patrol. And bang, Free Phone, Free Health Care, Free EVERYTHING. Yay!
I was laid off in February. My COBRA was +$700 a month.
That's common. Dell pays the majority of the health insurance costs since they self fund. You pay 100% of the costs under Cobra. As others said, go on the marketplace, and enroll if you haven't missed the deadline.
If your income has dropped and/or you have no job, then go to Healthcare.gov. That's what it's for. Get some BCBS insurance. Cobra is a rip off.