Medicare & COBRA: The most extreme of extreme sports

In the ERISA world, the collision of COBRA with Medicare is about as brutally taxing mentally as an ultramarathon is physically. Lucky for Ed and Scott, Courtenay Brummer from Lockton’s Mylo division joins the show to help us understand some of the convoluted nuances we encounter when COBRA and Medicare collide. In this episode, the trio work through:

• When does Medicare enrollment allow a plan to terminate COBRA?
• Why doesn’t Medicare enrollment, for an individual already buying COBRA coverage, operate as a second COBRA qualifying event?
• Where an employee enrolls in Medicare before employment termination or reduction in hours, why might their dependents be entitled to more than 18 months of COBRA?
• If Ed and Scott were really big-time ERISA lawyers, would they really need to draw a picture to explain all this?
• Why do individuals who wait until COBRA is exhausted before leaping to Medicare risk a lifetime late enrollment penalty?

Mylo can help sort out not only Medicare enrollment timing issues, but also whether Part C is a better option than A, B and D, and when it makes sense to consider a Medigap plan. To contact our guest, Courtenay Brummer you can call her (913-981-3695) or reach out to her by email (cbrummer@choosemylo.com).