Can My Employer Make Changes To My Health Insurance While On Disability

Many individuals wonder what is going to happen to their employer-sponsored health insurance coverage while they are on a medical get out of absenteeism from work. As with most legal questions, the answer is it depends.

This post addresses some of the initial factors y'all might consider in gild to determine whether your health insurance coverage will go on while you are unable to work.

Your Health Insurance Should Continue If You lot Are on FMLA Get out

The Family and Medical Exit Act (FMLA) permits workers to take up to 12 weeks of unpaid medical exit in a twelvemonth for a serious health status without losing their chore. Whether you are eligible for FMLA leave depends on a number of factors, including the number of employees at your company, how long yous take worked for the company and whether y'all have had other medical leaves during the past year. More than information about the FMLA tin be found hither.

If you accept wellness insurance with your employer and take FMLA get out, then the employer must continue your health insurance coverage on the same terms as if you had continued to work. That ways, if you had fabricated contributions to the wellness insurance premiums, you volition continue to be obligated to do so. If premiums normally were deducted from your paycheck, simply your leave is unpaid, you will have to arrange to pay the employee portion of the premiums in lodge to maintain coverage.

1 note of caution: If you do not render to work at the terminate of your go out catamenia, or if yous inform your employer of your intent non to return, the employer no longer has an obligation to maintain your health insurance benefits. Additionally, the employer may crave you to repay the employer's share of the premium payments if y'all fail to return to work post-obit leave.

Some Employers Offering Continued Health Insurance While Employees Are Canonical For Short or Long Term Disability Insurance Benefits

While not required, some employers offer continued health insurance coverage while a worker is on brusk or long term disability get out. Short and long term disability benefits do not cover the cost of wellness insurance premiums. Rather, STD and LTD policies pay a percentage of your income while you are unable to work. In order to determine whether you volition take continued health insurance coverage while you are on a short or long term disability leave, you will need to examine the employer's policies and/or its benefits handbook. An employer is not required to maintain an employee'southward health insurance coverage for extended leaves of absence, simply it is required to follow its written policies and to use them consistently.

In Nigh Cases, Y'all Must Be Permitted to Elect COBRA Continuation Coverage If You lot Lose Your Health Insurance

Aside from certain pocket-sized employers, as well as the federal government and church organizations, employers must allow you to elect the Consolidated Omnibus Upkeep Reconciliation Human action (COBRA) continuation coverage if your wellness insurance coverage is terminated due to your leave of absence from work. More often than not, for losses of health insurance due to leaves of absence, you will be entitled to 18 months of continued COBRA coverage.

Assuming the get out will trigger your loss of health insurance, your employer must notify the group wellness programme within xxx days of the qualifying event. Inside 14 days of receiving notice, the grouping health programme must send y'all an election notice, informing you of your rights to elect COBRA continuation coverage. Yous then must exist allowed at least 60 days to choose whether or not to elect COBRA coverage.

Despite the availability of COBRA continuation coverage, many individuals do not elect wellness insurance under COBRA because it tin can be expensive. That'due south because your group wellness plan legally can require you to pay upward to 102 percent of its total toll in premiums.

As described higher up, in that location are multiple laws and policies to consider in order to determine whether your health insurance benefits will continue while you lot are on a medical leave. If yous would like to hash out your rights to continued health insurance, please contact Hawks Quindel to arrange a consultation with an employee benefits attorney.

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Danielle is a shareholder in the Madison office of Hawks Quindel. She practices in the areas of personal injury, employee benefits and employment bigotry. Danielle has litigation experience in land and federal courts, and she is a zealous advocate for the crusade of her clients.

Source: https://www.hq-law.com/blog/employee-benefits/health-insurance-during-medical-leave-from-work/

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