WHILE THERE are similarities between COBRA, OBRA and Cal-COBRA, the differences exist. The initials for COBRA represent the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act, OBRA represents the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act and Cal-COBRA is the programme by the state of California.

COBRA is a programme of the United States federal government. COBRA is a form of insurance that allows employees and their families to continue the group health benefits of their plans for a limited time in case of events such as unemployment, termination, divorce, death and other events dictated by life. It requires employers to extend this temporary coverage and provide notice of it.

According to the United States Department of Labor website, the individuals who are qualified may be required to pay the entire premium of the group health plan for up to one hundred and two per cent of the plan. COBRA is applicable to employers and group health plans that have twenty or more employees.

The duration of COBRA for the employee is between e18 to 36 months.

The state of California has a similar version of the Federal programme called COBRA. It is called Cal-COBRA and it functions under certain conditions for residents of California. Cal-COBRA allows employees and families to keep their insurance for up to 36 months.

Cal-COBRA applies to employers and their group health plans that cover between two to 19 employees. Cal-COBRA can also be applied to people in California who have used 18 months of their Federal COBRA programme.

It must be remembered that COBRA and Cal-COBRA are not free health rides and that premiums must be paid on a timely basis.

According to the state of California, Department of Managed Care web page, the following people are ineligible to receive COBRA and Cal-COBRA. They are the people who have been fired for gross misconduct, medicare enrollees and those about to be enrolled in medicare.

The people who have been negligent in enrolling on time or have not met payment within the allotted time frame are also ineligible for COBRA and Cal-COBRA.

OBRA may be the Spanish word for work or the acronyms of the Oregon Bicycle Riding Association but it is a Federal programme for those who are disabled. OBRA was approved by the US Congress in 1989 and allows people who have used their COBRA benefits to extend their health care coverage beyond COBRA.

The individual who applies for OBRA must be determined by the social security administration to meet the disability provisions within 60 days of qualifying. The individual must also provide a copy of a letter from the social security administrator within 60 days of receiving the letter.

The beneficiary of OBRA must pay 150 per cent of their total health insurance premium and coverage may last up to 11 months. Since medicare begins within 30 months of a disability, there are no gaps in health care coverage if a person has used COBRA and OBRA.

OBRA is not a free ride and people can lose their benefits for the same reason they would lose it under COBRA and Cal-COBRA.