Warning: Don't ignore COBRA rules Fair warning: This is not fun. It's exactly the part of running a business that entrepreneurs love to hate. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- And that's undoubtedly why so many otherwise savvy business owners end up sidestepping COBRA regulations - a decision far from smart. COBRA, of course, began as the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act signed into law in 1985 by President Reagan. It requires employers health insurance for small businesses health insurance for small businesses to offer qualified individuals the option of continuing their group health plan coverage when they're about to lose it. Contrary to the popular notion that COBRA was created to help workers, many experts point out that the law was designed, as it says, to "reconcile the budget." That is: To shift responsibility for health-care coverage from the government to employers. So this is about raising government revenue, not sustaining mega health insurance company health insurance for small businesses workers. That perspective might help you understand COBRA's annoying bureaucracy and layers. As a result, COBRA compliance nowadays means staying current on a continually changing hydra-headed monster of updated laws, amendments and court rulings, some as recent as 2000. Plus, most states have passed baby or mini-COBRA laws that regulate the continuation of coverage in areas exempted or ignored by federal rules. COBRA laws are so complex that even the auto insurance cards health insurance for small businesses courts don't always agree when judging infractions and lawsuits. Yet if you aren't careful and consistent about complying with the rules, the penalties can be costly. Who and what qualifies Generally, according to Gary Kushner, a benefits consultant in Kalamazoo, Mich., "employers of 20 or more employees must offer to continue health coverage to qualified plan participants who were covered on any given workday in the preceding six aarp insurance quotes health insurance for small businesses months."