Heard from the vet - they said that Dean should be fine. That he wasn't near exceeding the dose - unless he ate a lot more of them. And that he may have some vomiting or diarrhea.

Okay, I'm finally looking at this COBRA schtuff. I have until the end of June to send it in, and it's retroactive, and I don't have to prove I'm insurable, and I have 45 days after date of election to pay my first premium ($335). Soooo... is there any reason I shouldn't wait a while*? I might not need it, and I'm short on cashola at the moment.

To do now vs in June? Or to do at all just in case you don't need it. If the former, wait, if you think you'll have money. If the latter, do it. Because if you have cobra you're insured. So when:if you get another job you don't have a break in coverage. Not sure when all the Obama stuff kicks in, but no break in coverage means your preexisting conditions are covered.

I do know that if you don't pay it and wait you won't have coverage for that time.

askye, I don't think that's correct. From my paperwork - "The first payment made is to be applied retroactively toward coverage for the period beginning after the date on which coverage would have been lost as a result of the qualifying event." That agrees with what I'm finding here [link] And I found this on a government site - "The initial premium payment must be made within 45 days after the date of the COBRA election by the qualified beneficiary. Payment generally must cover the period of coverage from the date of COBRA election retroactive to the date of the loss of coverage due to the qualifying event. Premiums for successive periods of coverage are due on the date stated in the plan with a minimum 30-day grace period for payments. Payment is considered to be made on the date it is sent to the plan." (from here [link] bolding mine)

So if I wait, it seems I'll have to pay 3 months at once. Hrmph.

Soooo... is there any reason I shouldn't wait a while*? I might not need it, and I'm short on cashola at the moment.

I would say no, but set like 19 calendar alerts so that if you don't have another job/other coverage by day 45 (didn't it used to be 61?) you don't miss the date. For the continuity reasons meara mentioned.

But remember that if you elect it retroactively, you pay retroactively too - so waiting saves you money if you don't need it at all, but not if you do end up needing it. Then it's just a timing game. Which may be worth it anyway depending on your circumstances.

smonster, your reading is correct. You can retroactively cover yourself. It makes things a bit more complicated, but if there's a chance you won't need it, it's a decent gamble.

ita, thanks.

brenda, it's still 60 days to elect coverage. You have 45 days from when you elect coverage to pay your first premium, but the first one goes all the way back.

I worded it badly. Yes you will get covered retroactively but if you need services you'll have to pay for them out of pocket and then get reimbursed.

Of course my situation is different in that I kept getting the run around and also I was on a local HMO and couldn't get coverage and I'm now waiting for paperwork to find out what insurance I'll actually have.

Oh, gotcha. I do have some things I should do before I go, if I can. And since my former company is also in NOLA, there sure better be coverage there. It's a United HMO, so. And good luck to you getting all that straightened out.

That's a poser, smonster.

Are you covered now? Do you have a supply of necessary medications that will allow your physical and mental health to function optimally during this move and search? If not, then the outlay for COBRA might be worth it, because if you fuck your health up, you fuck the whole thing up.

I am not the queen of health insurance info; personally, I would probably try to wait it out. Of course, Murphy's Law dictates that this would End Badly -- you don't wanna get to NOLA and have something that would be fairly cheap with coverage, like a UTI moving into a kidney infection, say, spring up and cost you hundreds.

But I also thinking of the mini-heart attack I had when pricing moving options from NC to NOLA, so...

Can I get in on the health-insurance whining?

When I left my old job, we switched me to S's insurance, so I didn't take COBRA. Yay, relief. But now he's switched jobs, and his old insurance is running out, and his new job doesn't pay for coverage - instead, they reimburse part of the coverage you buy on the open market, which means we get to shop for said coverage.

Which is stressful enough, as experiences go.

But the really fun part is that according to his COBRA paperwork, I WAS NOT COVERED ON HIS OLD POLICY. On which we were PAYING FOR TWO PEOPLE. After he ENROLLED ME IN THEIR FUCKING EMPLOYEE POLICY according to their own procedures.

Which makes it a SHITLOAD MORE HASSLE TO SHOP IN THE OPEN MARKET (for shitty high-deductible coverage) WHEN I'M SELF-EMPLOYED AND HAD A COVERAGE BREAK.

And I'd really like to, you know, abandon everything to move to a civilized country that recognizes that it's both a moral good and plain old self interest to actually take care of its people.

And also, go COCKPUNCH THE ASSHOLES WHO HAVE BEEN TRYING TO REPEAL THE TINY TINY STEPS WE BARELY MANAGED TO GET toward a modern health system.

Or, you know, go cry a lot. About the fact that I live in a country that flagwaves their FUCKING LIES about how the shitstain of a non-policy their lobbyists have stuck us with for generations now is both pro-entrepreneurship and "Christian".