COBRA continuation coverage | ERS

After you leave employment, you and/or your covered dependents may be eligible to continue health insurance coverage under COBRA for up to 18 months. Your COBRA continuation coverage is limited to the medical, dental and/or vision benefits you had when you left employment. If you choose COBRA coverage, you will pay the full premium plus an additional 2% administrative fee directly to ERS. If you continue coverage under COBRA before you are eligible for Medicare, you must enroll in Medicare when you are first eligible. Your COBRA coverage ends when you are eligible for Medicare, even if you are still within your initial COBRA eligibility period. If you are already enrolled in Medicare when you become eligible for COBRA, you can continue coverage under COBRA for the maximum allowed period. Medicare is your primary insurance, and COBRA is secondary. You should keep Medicare because it is responsible for paying most of your health care costs.

This Post: COBRA continuation coverage | ERS

COBRA Rates for Plan Year 2023

(Sept. 1, 2022 – Aug. 31, 2023)

Rates include 2% administrative fee.

Health Insurance

Plan
You Only
You & Spouse
You & Child(ren)
You & Family

HealthSelect of Texas®
$635.05
$1,365.37
$1,124.04
$1,854.36

Consumer Directed HealthSelectSM
$589.15
$1,237.06
$1,007.78
$1,701.58

If you are a tobacco user, tobacco-user premium is added to your health premium cost.

Dental Insurance

Plan
You Only
You & Spouse
You & Child(ren)
You & Family

DeltaCare® USA DHMO
$8.80
$17.61
$21.13
$29.92

State of Texas Dental ChoiceSM
$29.30
$58.61
$70.33
$99.63

Vision Insurance

Plan
You Only
You & Spouse
You & Child(ren)
You & Family

State of Texas VisionSM
$4.70
$9.40
$10.11
$14.81

Tobacco-user Premium

Tobacco-users of Any Age and Adults Who Fail to Certify
Member or Spouse or Children* Only
Member + Spouse or Member + Children* or Spouse + Children*
Family (Member + Spouse + Children*)

Monthly Tobacco-user Premium
$30
$60
$90

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*The charge for a child is the same regardless of how many children in the household use tobacco or how many covered children age 18 or over are not certified.

COBRA Rates for Plan Year 2022

(Sept. 1, 2021 – Aug. 31, 2022)

Rates include 2% administrative fee.

Health Insurance

Plan
You Only
You & Spouse
You & Child(ren)
You & Family

HealthSelect of Texas®
$634.22
$1,363.60
$1,122.55
$1,851.93

Consumer Directed HealthSelectSM
$588.32
$1,235.34
$1,006.33
$1,699.26

If you are a tobacco-user, a tobacco-user premium is added to your health premium cost.

Dental Insurance

Plan
You Only
You & Spouse
You & Child(ren)
You & Family

DeltaCare® USA DHMO
$9.78
$19.56
$23.48
$33.24

State of Texas Dental ChoiceSM
$28.59
$57.18
$68.62
$97.21

Vision Insurance

Plan
You Only
You & Spouse
You & Child(ren)
You & Family

State of Texas VisionSM
$4.70
$9.40
$10.11
$14.81

Tobacco-user Premium

Tobacco-users of Any Age and Adults Who Fail to Certify
Member or Spouse or Children* Only
Member + Spouse or Member + Children* or Spouse + Children*
Family (Member + Spouse + Children*)

Monthly Tobacco-user Premium
$30
$60
$90

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*The charge for a child is the same regardless of how many children in the household use tobacco or how many covered children age 18 or over are not certified.

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When determining your monthly premium for continuation coverage under COBRA, note the following:

• If only one dependent child is continuing coverage, the child is the COBRA applicant. Pay the “You Only” rate.
• If multiple children are continuing coverage, the youngest child is the COBRA applicant. Pay the “You & Child(ren)” rate.
• If only a dependent spouse is continuing coverage, the spouse is the COBRA applicant. Pay the “You (COBRA Applicant) Only” rate.
• If the spouse and child(ren) are continuing coverage, the spouse is the COBRA applicant. Pay the “You & Child(ren)” rate.
• If only a surviving spouse or ex-spouse is continuing coverage, the spouse is the COBRA applicant. Pay the “You Only” rate.
• If a surviving spouse and children or ex-spouse and children are continuing coverage, the spouse is the COBRA applicant. Pay the “You & Children” rate.

Extending COBRA Coverage

Secondary Qualifying Events

The initial 18-month period of COBRA coverage may be extended up to 36 months for your dependents in the event of death, divorce or the loss of status as a dependent child during their initial COBRA eligibility period. For these situations, COBRA coverage cannot be continued beyond 36 months.

Adding New Coverage for a Dependent

You can add eligible dependents gained through a qualifying life event (QLE), such as a birth or adoption, during your annual benefits enrollment period or within 31 days of the QLE.

Disability Extension

If you or any of your dependents are certified as disabled (Title II or XVI), you may continue COBRA coverage for up to an additional 11 months. If you think you or your dependents qualify for this extension, send ERS a copy of your Social Security Administration Notice of Award letter including the date that the disability began (the disability date needs to include the month, date and year to be reviewed).

COBRA Coverage for Unmarried Children

If you have an unmarried dependent child, they may be eligible to extend their COBRA continuation coverage beyond the initial COBRA eligibility period. For more information, contact ERS toll-free at (877) 275-4377, TTY: 711.