Managed Benefits · California
California is a mini-COBRA state: smaller employers must let departing employees keep group coverage under state law. BEG Managed Benefits, powered by isolved, runs the notices, elections, and premium tracking so the rules are handled. You keep your broker; we do the administration.
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California Continuation, In Brief
| State law | Cal. Health & Safety Code section 1366.20 et seq. (health care service plans, DMHC); Cal. Ins. Code section 10128.50 et seq. (disability/health insurers, CDI) |
| Employers covered | employers with 2 to 19 eligible employees (below the 20-employee federal COBRA threshold); also extends federal COBRA beneficiaries to a combined 36 months |
| Maximum continuation | Up to 36 months |
| At 20 or more employees | Federal COBRA applies instead |
| Marketplace | State-based marketplace: Covered California (uses its own platform, not HealthCare.gov). |
Source: California statute and department of insurance (leginfo.legislature.ca.gov). This page is general information, not legal advice.
Why It Lands On You
The California rule reaches companies too small to have a benefits department, yet the notices, election windows, and premium tracking look a lot like federal COBRA. Miss a required notice and the exposure accrues per person. BEG Managed Benefits, powered by isolved, runs California continuation the same way it runs enrollment: notices generated on the qualifying event, elections and payments tracked, and the clock watched so nothing slips. Your broker keeps advising you and placing coverage. We own the administration behind it.
Your monthly estimate on screen - no call required
See COBRA vs mini-COBRA, or return to the Managed Benefits overview.
Questions
Yes. California has a state continuation, or mini-COBRA, law that lets employees of smaller companies keep group health coverage after a qualifying event, filling the gap below the federal COBRA threshold of 20 employees. employers with 2 to 19 eligible employees (below the 20-employee federal COBRA threshold); also extends federal COBRA beneficiaries to a combined 36 months
Up to 36 months, subject to the state's early-termination rules such as non-payment of premium or becoming covered under another plan.
Employees and their dependents (qualified beneficiaries) of a group covered by a health care service plan or insurer whose employer had 2 to 19 eligible employees and is not subject to federal COBRA. Qualifying events include termination or reduction in hours, death of the employee, divorce or legal separation, Medicare entitlement, and loss of dependent status.
No. Federal COBRA applies to employers with 20 or more employees, and the California law covers the smaller groups federal COBRA does not reach. A company is generally subject to one or the other based on size.
The employer and insurer carry the notice and election duties, and the exposure accrues per person if they are missed. BEG Managed Benefits, powered by isolved, runs enrollment, notices, election tracking, and premium status in one system. You keep your broker; we do the administration.
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