A: The easy answer to that question is to continue the insurance coverage you have in place with your nonprofit organization. If your nonprofit has less than 20 employees, you must be covered under the group health plan for six months to be eligible for continuation. If your organization has more than 20 employees, you are eligible for continuation immediately, assuming you enrolled in the group health plan.
You would be required to pay the full premium before the start of each month. Most employers pay at least 50% of the premium for you so the full cost could be a shock to your checkbook. Do you have a health problem? If so, continuation of your employer’s health insurance plan may be your only option. Ask your employer if it’s possible to change the coverage plan and save some premium dollars. The policy continuation will be in place for 18 months as long as you make the monthly premiums prior to the first day of the month. If you miss a month, you won’t be able to start again. When you start a new job, you will be asked to show you had continuous coverage in place. If you dropped coverage for a few months, you could be subject to pre-existing condition exclusions on the new policy.

If you don’t have health problems, explore the possibility of purchasing an individual policy. Many carriers now offer these policies. You will be asked to complete a medical questionnaire and must be approved by the insurance company. If you are approved, the premium cost could be lower than the group plan. And, you will have more choice of plans and cost. Individual policies are not required to provide all the coverage that currently exists under a group policy. Read the policy description carefully to be sure you understand what you are purchasing. If you are planning to have a child during the next year, be sure maternity coverage is included.

You may have included your family under your employer’s group health plan. If one of your family members has a medical condition but the others do not, you may want to purchase an individual policy for only the healthy family members. The cost may be lower than continuing your group health insurance plan for the family.

Let’s assume you are still working and you have your family covered under your group health policy. You are required to pay the cost for your dependents. It your dependents don’t have a medical condition; an individual policy may be an option for you. You may decide to purchase a high-deductible plan and save some premium dollars.

Nonprofit Resources now has information about purchasing individual insurance available on their website. Once you log in, you can get quotes for a wide variety of policies and information about the coverage provided.
The login is your organization’s member number. The password was emailed to your organization. If it’s not available, contact us for assistance.

At Nonprofit Resources, our insurance programs offer a wide range of competitively priced packages. Remember, profits earned by Nonprofit Resources are used to support Colorado Nonprofit Association programs. Please contact us when you are purchasing insurance for your organization. You can reach us via phone at 303-894-0298 or toll-free at 866-537-1142.