Medicare & COBRA
Understanding how COBRA coverage works when you become eligible for Medicare.
What to Know Before Choosing COBRA Instead of Medicare
If you are approaching age 65 and leaving an employer plan, you may be offered COBRA coverage to continue your existing health insurance.
While COBRA can be helpful in certain situations, it does NOT replace Medicare and it does not extend your Medicare enrollment deadlines.
Understanding how Medicare works with COBRA can help you avoid late enrollment penalties and gaps in coverage.
COBRA Does NOT Delay Medicare Enrollment
One of the biggest misunderstandings is thinking that COBRA allows you to delay Medicare without consequences.
This is not the case.
Once you are eligible for Medicare at age 65, COBRA is not considered creditable coverage for delaying Medicare Part B.
If you delay Medicare while on COBRA, you could face:
-
- Lifetime late enrollment penalties
- A delay in when your Medicare coverage begins
- Potential gaps in health coverage
COBRA Is Secondary to Medicare
If you are eligible for Medicare and choose to keep COBRA coverage, Medicare becomes your primary insurance and COBRA becomes secondary coverage.
This means Medicare pays first, and COBRA may help cover some remaining costs depending on the plan.
To have full Medicare coverage in this situation, you should enroll in both Medicare Part A (Hospital Insurance) and Medicare Part B (Medical Insurance).
If you only enroll in Part A and delay Part B, COBRA may not pay as expected, which could leave you responsible for medical expenses that Medicare would normally cover.
Because of this, individuals who keep COBRA after becoming eligible for Medicare are generally advised to enroll in both Part A and Part B to ensure proper coverage.