California Employer Resource · Triggering Events
📉 Losing Your Group Health Coverage — What Happens Next?
Whether your carrier dropped you or you had to cancel the plan, losing group coverage isn’t the end of the road — but it does trigger a specific set of obligations and options.
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Looking for the full employer rulebook — the 50-employee mandate, penalties, and tax credits? See the full guide →
❓ Why would a business lose its group coverage?Common Causes
A carrier can non-renew or exit the market, your business can fall below participation or contribution minimums mid-year and get dropped, or you can choose to voluntarily end the plan (budget, downsizing, acquisition). See the participation rules that can trigger this →
📜 What am I required to do for employees who lose coverage?COBRA & Cal-COBRA
If you have 20 or more employees, federal COBRA requires you to offer continuation coverage (typically 18 months, up to 36 for some qualifying events) that affected employees can pay for themselves. If you have 2–19 employees, California’s Cal-COBRA requires essentially the same continuation option, generally for up to 36 months. Employers with just 1 eligible employee generally fall outside both.Source: 29 U.S.C. §1161 et seq. (COBRA); Cal. Health & Safety Code §1366.21 et seq. / Ins. Code §10128.51 et seq. (Cal-COBRA)
🧙 What are an employee’s options if there’s a coverage gap?Employee Options
Losing group coverage is a qualifying life event that opens a 60-day special enrollment window for individual coverage — including subsidized Covered California plans — so employees aren’t stuck waiting for the next open enrollment period. Worth pointing your team toward that window directly rather than letting them assume they have to wait. See individual & family options to point them toward →
🔄 Can I re-enter the group market later without a penalty?Starting Over
Yes — there’s no “penalty box” for having dropped group coverage before. You can re-shop and re-enroll whenever you’re ready, subject to the same contribution and participation minimums (or the Nov 15–Dec 15 window) as any other business getting started. Brush up on those minimums →
🤝 The Bench Behind You
👨⚕️ “Behind me is a family-owned General Agency with over 40 years in California group benefits.”
👩⚕️ “You get dedicated sales and service reps, plus underwriting advocacy that pushes tough cases through with carriers. That’s the bench your business gets.”
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