There is good healthcare available in Texas, but it is unlikely you would be able to easily handle the cost on your own. Your employer’s group health care plan provides a crucial safety net: If you or your family members were to get injured or fall ill, the financial burden of dealing with medical bills on your own could be enough to completely change your way of life.
There are many reasons that you might lose your group health coverage. Regardless of whether you remained on good terms with your employer, you could potentially retain your insurance policy temporarily via the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act.
The Texas Department of Insurance states that the COBRA rules would usually only apply if your company employs more than 20 or more people. Furthermore, you would probably have to act quickly after you lost coverage — or you might even want to prepare for the situation ahead of time. You would have only 60 days after becoming eligible to decide whether or not you would like to take advantage of the program in most cases.
This continuation of your group health plan could prove to be invaluable. It would likely allow you to shop around for independent health care while seamlessly maintaining coverage. You could potentially even qualify for a longer period under COBRA if you had certain types of disabilities described by the Social Security Administration.
The answer to any question you might have about your own insurance would likely depend heavily on your own situation, your history with your employer and the previous case law relevant to these two factors. You would probably want to make a quick, efficient analysis before going forward with any claims, lawsuits or applications. Therefore, please do not consider this as legal advice. It is simply background information.
