4 ms·

Emphasizes the difference between owning a startup/small company and merely working for one. Also emphasizes the difference between having health care and havi

Emphasizes the difference between owning a startup/small company and merely working for one. Also emphasizes the difference between having health care and having health care tied to your employment. I thought COBRA allowed one to back-purchase coverage if it turned out you needed it - and this would seem applicable to this situation. Sure sounds like a not-so-hidden attempt to downsize as I posted previously re: negative job actions. Again, no charge to the company if people exit on their own... Read the fine print in these kinds of changes to make sure there's no date where leaving before is a normal exit while leaving after is not (severance, etc). Life's not fair, and it sux having it thrown in people's faces like this. But without a union and in an industry with dog eats dog thinking, it's up to you to protect your ass.

rdtwo 5y ago
I mean sure great way to downsize if you plan to fire everyone. Otherwise you just keep those that can’t find another job so you get the worst employees
aksss 5y ago
COBRA is really spendy. AFAICR, it's allowing you to continue payments on your policy, but you then have to pick up what the employer was paying. In best of cases this usually means a doubling of what you used to realize as a health insurance cost. COBRA's value is that it insulates you from a gap in coverage and/or a forced change to your provider network and benefit structure. For younger people without unmanaged chronic conditions, I think COBRA provides little value at all, but YMMV based on risk-tolerance. > it's up to you to protect your ass and to manage your contracts/engagements/agreements to profit. You can use a union as your employment agent, but they'll take a cut for their trouble and introduce some other dynamics to your employment (wage caps, seniority considerations, another political realm to manage).
coredog64 5y ago
The typical advice is to buy COBRA regardless. They don’t require the money up front, and if you get covered in the interim you can cancel COBRA. Worst case they’ll send you a bill you don’t pay and it’s a small hit to your credit for a while. The last time I had to do this I managed to convince the COBRA administrator to backdate my cancellation because the bills got lost in the mail and I didn’t have any credit hit.
- thebean11 5y ago
  What? How is failing to pay your bills better than getting COBRA retroactively only if you need it..? The latter has the same benefits and avoids getting harassed by collections and trashing your credit.
1123581321 5y ago
Their new insurance starts the very next day and any one-off gap issues are covered by the new policy. I've done far worse things to myself while self-employed.

rdtwo 5y ago

I mean sure great way to downsize if you plan to fire everyone. Otherwise you just keep those that can’t find another job so you get the worst employees

aksss 5y ago

COBRA is really spendy. AFAICR, it's allowing you to continue payments on your policy, but you then have to pick up what the employer was paying. In best of cases this usually means a doubling of what you used to realize as a health insurance cost. COBRA's value is that it insulates you from a gap in coverage and/or a forced change to your provider network and benefit structure. For younger people without unmanaged chronic conditions, I think COBRA provides little value at all, but YMMV based on risk-tolerance. > it's up to you to protect your ass and to manage your contracts/engagements/agreements to profit. You can use a union as your employment agent, but they'll take a cut for their trouble and introduce some other dynamics to your employment (wage caps, seniority considerations, another political realm to manage).

coredog64 5y ago

The typical advice is to buy COBRA regardless. They don’t require the money up front, and if you get covered in the interim you can cancel COBRA. Worst case they’ll send you a bill you don’t pay and it’s a small hit to your credit for a while. The last time I had to do this I managed to convince the COBRA administrator to backdate my cancellation because the bills got lost in the mail and I didn’t have any credit hit.

thebean11 5y ago
What? How is failing to pay your bills better than getting COBRA retroactively only if you need it..? The latter has the same benefits and avoids getting harassed by collections and trashing your credit.

1123581321 5y ago

Their new insurance starts the very next day and any one-off gap issues are covered by the new policy. I've done far worse things to myself while self-employed.