A California employee works for a small employer with 15 employees and loses coverage due to termination of employment. Federal COBRA does NOT apply because the employer has fewer than 20 employees. What is the employee's CONTINUATION right under California law?

Explanation

California's 'mini-COBRA' (Cal-COBRA) statutes — California Insurance Code §1366.20 et seq. for insurers and Health & Safety Code §1373.621 for HMOs — fill the gap for small employers (2-19 employees) that are NOT subject to federal COBRA, so the response describing Cal-COBRA continuation of up to 36 months for a fully insured small-employer plan is correct. Cal-COBRA generally provides up to 36 months of continuation coverage following a qualifying event (longer than the federal COBRA 18-month period for termination/reduction in hours). For employees who exhaust federal COBRA at a larger employer, Cal-COBRA may also provide an additional period bringing the total to 36 months. The statement that no continuation right exists at all and the worker must buy an individual policy through Covered California is wrong; California fills the COBRA gap. The claim that ERISA preempts the California small-employer statutes so federal COBRA reaches every group plan regardless of size is wrong; federal COBRA applies only to employers with 20+ employees. The response giving 6 months and then automatic county enrollment fabricates a Medi-Cal trigger that does not exist.