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COBRA in Indiana

Indiana is the one state on this site where we will not tell you exactly what your state continuation rights are, because the statute is written in a way that makes it genuinely uncertain. What we can tell you is what is clearly available instead, and it is worth knowing about.

Reviewed and updated 1 August 2026 against the Indiana Code and federal sources.

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If Your Employer Had 20 or More Staff

Federal COBRA applies and works exactly as it does everywhere else. Eighteen months for job loss or reduced hours, up to thirty-six for certain other events, at up to 102 percent of the plan cost. Sixty days to elect.
None of the uncertainty below affects you. How federal COBRA works →

If Your Employer Was Smaller Than That

Why we are being careful here

Indiana Code 27-8-15-31.1 sets out a continuing coverage right for employees of small employers. But the section opens by stating that it becomes effective only on the effective date of a mechanism enacted by the general assembly to offset the fiscal impact on small employers and their insurers.
That is a conditional trigger, and we have not been able to confirm from an Indiana state source whether it was met. Rather than tell you that you do have a continuation right, or that you do not, we are telling you to ask. Your former employer’s insurer will know.
Several commercial websites state Indiana continuation rules with more confidence than the statute supports. We would rather send you to the insurer than repeat something we cannot source.

What Is Clearly Available: A Conversion Policy

Separately from any continuation right, Indiana Code 27-8-15-31 gives employees of small employers a right to a conversion policy. This one is not conditional.
Federal COBRAIndiana conversion policy
What you getThe same group plan continuesA different, individual policy from the same insurer
Who qualifiesEmployees of larger employersCovered at least 90 days, and not eligible for federal COBRA
Time to request60 days to elect30 days after losing coverage
CostUp to 102 percent of the plan costUp to 150 percent of the small employer group rate
BenefitsIdentical to what you hadA conversion product, which may differ from your group plan

One hundred and fifty percent is a lot

A conversion policy at 150 percent of the group rate will usually cost more than a marketplace plan, and the benefits may not match what you had. It exists as a guaranteed route to coverage, not as a good deal.
Before taking one, price a marketplace plan for the same household. If you qualify for a premium tax credit, the difference can be substantial.
Note the thirty-day deadline. It is half the federal COBRA window and runs from when you lose coverage.

Your Other Options in Indiana

Indiana uses the federal Health Insurance Marketplace. Losing job-based coverage opens a 60-day Special Enrollment Period, and you can enrol up to 60 days before coverage ends so a new plan starts as the old one stops.
Indiana expanded Medicaid through the Healthy Indiana Plan, so adults with household income up to 138 percent of the federal poverty level may qualify. There is no enrolment window for Medicaid, and if you qualify it will almost always cost less than a conversion policy.
Given the uncertainty over continuation and the cost of conversion, the marketplace is more likely to be the practical answer in Indiana than in most states. Worth pricing first rather than last.
How ACA Marketplace pricing works →

What to Ask

• Did the employer have twenty or more employees? That decides whether federal COBRA applies, and settles everything.
• Was the plan fully insured or self-funded? State law does not reach self-funded plans.
• Does the insurer offer state continuing coverage, and on what terms?
• What would a conversion policy cost, and what does it actually cover?
• What would a marketplace plan cost for the same household, after any premium tax credit?
The Indiana Department of Insurance can help with questions about state insurance law and about what a particular insurer is required to offer.

Read Next

How much COBRA actually costs →
Compare COBRA and Marketplace side by side →
What to do when you lose coverage →
COBRA rules by state →

Sources

Drawn from the Indiana Code and federal sources. The conditional effective date in Section 27-8-15-31.1 is quoted from the statute itself. Your plan documents, your insurer, and the Indiana Department of Insurance are the authorities on what applies to you.

Indiana is a state where it pays to ask

A licensed agent can find out from the insurer what is actually on offer, price a conversion policy against a marketplace plan, and check whether the Healthy Indiana Plan is open to you. No charge, no obligation.
Get My Options

Prefer to talk? Call (888) 918-4516 · Monday to Friday, 10:00 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Eastern

This page is general information about Indiana and federal continuation coverage, not advice about your specific situation. We have deliberately not stated whether Indiana state continuing coverage is available, because the statute makes that conditional and we could not confirm it from a state source. Confirm with your insurer or the Indiana Department of Insurance. Rules, pricing, and eligibility vary by employer, plan, carrier, and household.

This website provides educational information about health insurance and is a solicitation for insurance. It is a non-government website operated by Prodest Insurance Group, a health insurance agency that presents health plans, which may include Affordable Care Act (ACA) plans, private health insurance, short-term medical insurance, or supplemental insurance based on the consumer's selection. Qualified ACA plans must meet or exceed the essential benefit requirements of the Affordable Care Act; non-ACA plans are not required to provide all of the essential benefit requirements contained in the Affordable Care Act. Pre-existing condition provisions, benefit availability, limitations and exclusions vary by plan type and state. You should review all plan details and product brochures before purchase. To qualify for ACA health insurance coverage outside of the open enrollment period, you must meet special enrollment requirements.

*Eligibility for Affordable Care Act (ACA) Advance Premium Tax Credit (APTC) and cost-sharing reductions is based on annual federal income thresholds, household size, and plan availability within the applicable service area. Premium rates, plan availability, and subsidy amounts vary by state and marketplace. Final eligibility and premium obligations are determined by the Health Insurance Marketplace under Internal Revenue Code Section 36B and applicable federal regulations.

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