COBRA is Not Just a Snake in the Grass Anymore

What is COBRA? Unfortunately, it is nothing as exciting as a big, scary snake. At least that gets your heart racing. Instead it is a law handed down from the feds that allows former employees to have health insurance after they are fired, quit or just wig out completely. I was about to wig out completely today when I had to spend all day listening to attorneys say things like, "Make sure your employee handbook says "only 30 days" not "at least 30 days." And don't you just hate when the presenter says to hold the questions to the end as she has a lot to say and may not ever give anyone else a chance! After several hours, I had exhausted all my options for caffeinated beverages...I had tried coffee, diet DP, coffee, iced tea, coffee and coffee. The only plus is that all that liquid led to me really having to leave to take a break...I mean really! When I got back from the ladies room, Tiffani, the attorney, who looked young enough to be my daughter and could be called Ms. Smarty Pants except her first name ended in a "i" a "y" which always makes me not take someone all that seriously, said something to the effect of how it was important to make the disclosure form "at least six or seven pages in length to be sure it is understandable to the employees. She has seen some employers use a ONE PARAGRAPH synopsis, which is apparently a cardinal sin in itself, and that just would not do to have an explanation of this COBRA thingy that folks may actually read. Tiffani told us it is much better for it to be looooong so that everyone will need coffee to read it. At that point, I headed to Starbucks!