Under COBRA, an employee whose group health coverage ends because of termination of employment or a reduction in hours is generally entitled to continuation coverage for up to:

Why A is correct

Under COBRA (Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1985), a qualified beneficiary who loses group health coverage due to termination of employment or reduction of hours may continue coverage for up to 18 months. The continuation coverage is identical to the coverage active employees receive, but the qualified beneficiary pays the full premium, including the employer's share, plus up to a 2 percent administrative charge. This provision protects employees and their families from losing coverage at the moment of job loss.

Why the other options are wrong

• B) Twelve months is not a standard COBRA continuation period; the base period is 18 months.
• C) Twenty-nine months is the extended period that applies when the qualified beneficiary is found disabled under Social Security rules.
• D) Thirty-six months applies to certain dependent qualifying events such as divorce or the death of the covered employee, not to the employee's own termination.

Memory hook

Termination of employment = 18 months of COBRA. Disability adds 11 more; dependent events reach 36.