ELECTING COBRA AND CONTINUING YOUR MEDICAL, DENTAL AND/OR VISION COVERAGE

The Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1985 (COBRA), offers coverage when you experience a qualifying event, such as termination of employment, and you lose your insurance coverage.

When your postdoc appointment terminates and you leave the university, you may continue your insurance coverage for any of the PSBP medical, dental and/or vision plans in which you and your family members are enrolled by electing COBRA Continuation Coverage. 

When you elect COBRA coverage, you will pay for each plan in which you and your family members choose to be enrolled. 

Please keep in mind that even if your appointment were to terminate at any time during the month, your PSBP coverage continues until the end of the month and your COBRA elected coverage would begin on the first of the month following your termination.

Electing and Paying for COBRA Continuation Coverage

Once GBS receives a request from USC to terminate your postdoc coverage, Flexible Benefit Services will send you a COBRA Election Notice and a packet which displays the plans that are available to you. This notice is sent to your last known address communicated to us by the USC payroll system through the file.

To elect your coverage, you will need to complete the COBRA Election Notice that was included in the packet and send it back to Flexible Benefit Services within the timeframe noted on the COBRA Election Notice. Once Flexible Benefit Services receives the election notice and payment, your COBRA enrollment will be processed.

COBRA General Notice – Continuation Coverage Rights

The COBRA General Notice - Continuation Coverage Rights contains language that assumes you have already enrolled in the plan, and is included as a section of the enrollment form. Please read the COBRA General Notice of COBRA Continuation Coverage Rights listed below, which provides details concerning continuing your coverage. 

If you are not enrolling in any plans in the PSBP (medical, dental or vision), this document does not pertain to you.

General Notice COBRA Continuation Coverage Rights:

COBRA general notice