Possible Cobra Violation?

[Mickey]

We currently live in Colorado. My husband was terminated at the begining of August. I was diagnosed with cancer earlier this year and we were really paranoid when it took over 60 days for his previous employer to send in his termintaion notice to the insurance carrier. This only happened after my husband had sent many phone calls and emails inquiring about our Cobra. His previous employer said they had sent the notice to the carrier back in July(he was not let go until August 3rd after he returned from bereavment leave).Earlier this month we received a letter saying that his previous employer is no longer using the same Corba assistance company and we haven't gotten any reply after my husband has once again emailed and called several times. We need to be covered for another month. We are not sure if we should continiue to pay the previous carrier and $500 is a lot to be unsure about. Also my husband talked to a lawyer today that said we may have a case, after charging us $160. He wants another $600-700 to continue with the case. We only contacted him because we were under the impression from our phone and email correspondance that he would work on contigency. We are really uncertain about pursuing with out knowing if it would be worth more then what we are going to have to pay the Lawyer. If there is any information or website that you could point us to, it would be greatly appreciated. Thank you for your time.  

[Er]

First off I would find an attorney that would work on contingency and fire this attorney.

Second I would contact the Department of labor and launch a cobra violation claim with them. Third call the insurance carrier that you have been paying and make sure you still have coverage and if you do than pay it so it is not lost. You actually should only have to pay part of the cobra premium because you should be eligible for the Cobra subsidy. You would need to check with the Department of Employment Cobra Division.

Here is the Cobra subsidy information: http://www.dol.gov/ebsa/COBRA.html

Here are some FAQ about cobra coverage:http://www.dol.gov/ebsa/faqs/faq_consumer_cobra.htmlhttp://www.dol.gov/ebsa/aboutebsa/org_chart.html#section13 at this website you will find a map of all the ESBA(Employee Benefits Security Administration)offices. Click on your state for your state office.

Complaints involving alleged violations of ERISA are handled by Benefit Advisors in our national and field offices. Those who file complaints with us can expect a prompt and courteous response from our staff. Every complaint received will be pursued and, if determined to be valid, resolution will be sought through informal dispute resolution.  You can expect to receive a status report from the assigned benefits advisor every 30 days.  If your valid complaint cannot be resolved informally, it may be referred for further review by our enforcement staff.  While we cannot ensure that every complaint will result in an investigation, at the conclusion of enforcement activity, if requested, we will furnish an understandable explanation of the outcome of our review and investigation.

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Shirley