Managed Benefits · Massachusetts
Massachusetts 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.
Your monthly estimate on screen - no call required
Massachusetts Continuation, In Brief
| State law | Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 176J, section 9 |
| Employers covered | small group health benefit plans issued to employers with 2 to 19 eligible employees (below the federal COBRA 20-employee threshold) |
| Maximum continuation | Up to 36 months |
| At 20 or more employees | Federal COBRA applies instead |
| Marketplace | State-based marketplace: Massachusetts Health Connector (uses its own platform, not HealthCare.gov). |
Source: Massachusetts statute and department of insurance (malegislature.gov). This page is general information, not legal advice.
Why It Lands On You
The Massachusetts 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 Massachusetts 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. Massachusetts 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. small group health benefit plans issued to employers with 2 to 19 eligible employees (below the federal COBRA 20-employee threshold)
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 eligible dependents (qualified beneficiaries) covered under a small group health plan. Duration by qualifying event: 18 months for termination or reduction in hours (extendable to 29 months on SSA disability determination), and 36 months for death of the covered employee, divorce or legal separation, Medicare entitlement, or a dependent losing eligible status.
No. Federal COBRA applies to employers with 20 or more employees, and the Massachusetts 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.
Ready?
Answer a few questions, get your exact number in about 90 seconds. No call required, no commitment.
Your monthly estimate on screen - no call required
