There's a lot of info on COBRA with good FAQs on the internet. If your wife accepts the buy out, she will be given the opportunity to pay for the COBRA coverage for, I think, 18 months - and that should provide the same levels of coverage for her that she's had thus far. The Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1985 (COBRA) requires most employers with group health plans to offer employees the opportunity to continue temporarily their group health care coverage under their employer's plan if their coverage otherwise would cease due to termination, layoff, or other change in employment status (referred to as "qualifying events"). A child who is "born to or placed for adoption with the covered employee during the period of continuation coverage under [Code §490B, the Code's COBRA provisions]" is also a qualified beneficiary regardless of whether the qualifying event occurred before, on, or after such date if they are enrolled within 30 days of birth or adoption. I'm not sure much of anything is negotiable in a buyout situation unless you're classified as essential personnel. If one isn't considered essential, being offered a buyout means - forgive me for being blunt - they really, really want you to accept it and to be gone. Trying to hold out just delays the inevitable and they may well cut jobs anyway and send people packing with zero. If I were you, I'd talk to the benefits people at your place of employment since I'd imagine you'll be going to the family plan on your health insurance once COBRA is exhausted.

I sincerely doubt you are insurable at this point. Most plans would require you pay a high percentage over even the Standard rate, or make you wait at least a year before writing coverage on you. celticmoon is correct on the healthcare costs. A comprehensive health insurance costs slightly over $1K/mo. average for a couple. The advantage is that they can't drop you since it is a continuation of coverage. Also, wasn't there something in the President's stimulus plan about helping to pick up some of the cost of COBRA insurance for the unemployed - although I'm not sure that would cover self-termination/retirement, it may be restricted to those who are laid off. Maximum you would want to take is a 4% distribution annually. I have no idea what the immigration policy is in England, but your dollars would not go far as currently the US dollar is weak vs the pound, about $1.64/one pound. Canada's immigration policy varies per province. British Columbia is now almost completely closed to immigration unless you have $300K cash and intend to open a business. I think some of the other provinces are more open to immigration, but you will be contending with more severe weather. It's no joke how cold it gets in Calgary (my MIL's relatives live there so she visits regularly...in summer!). If you are really strapped for cash and want to retire, I'm afraid going South of the border is your best alternative. There are many cities with US ex-pats and very good healthcare. We have friends who have had to move out of the US because they couldn't afford to retire here. You should note that Medicare does NOT cover anything if you live outside the US. Medical care in South and Central America can be very good, however, and is inexpensive by US standards. Panama, Costa Rica, Ecuador, and Mexico all have large ex-pat communities.

Finedreams... I understand what you are saying, but it wasn't really free when your DD went to the doctor. It may not have cost her at the time of her visit, but somebody paid for it. Maybe it was her dad, out of his income by way of taxes. Maybe it was some stranger who paid for it. I just had surgery for cervical cancer and I am thankful that I live in this country. I didn't have to pay anything for my surgery because I have insurance and only payed minimal co-pays for the original doctor visits for the diagnosis. I also didn't have to wait very long from the time of diagnosis to the time of treatment. I'm not sure that would be true if I lived elsewhere and if I were relying on government to take care of me. Canadian and British patients wait about twice as longsometimes more than a yearÂto see a specialist, have elective surgery such as hip replacements, or get radiation treatment for cancer. All told, 827,429 people are waiting for some type of procedure in Canada. In Britain, nearly 1.8 million people are waiting for a hospital admission or outpatient treatment. Statistics show that Breast cancer mortality is 52 percent higher in Germany than in the United States and 88 percent higher in the United Kingdom. Prostate cancer mortality is 604 percent higher in the United Kingdom and 457 percent higher in Norway. The mortality rate for colorectal cancer among British men and women is about 40 percent higher. Breast cancer mortality in Canada is 9 percent higher than in the United States, prostate cancer is 184 percent higher, and colon cancer among men is about 10 percent higher. Lovehadley...I think you are right. I think the high costs of malpractice insurance adds significantly to health care costs. I also think that if the state governments eased mandates on insurance, it would help. What I mean is that if I did not plan on ever having children, or if I could not get pregnant, I couldn't buy an insurance policy that did not cover me for pregnancy in my state. If I didn't drink or do drugs, and did not want to be covered for addiction treatment, I could not buy a policy in my state without that coverage. These mandates increase the cost of health insurance. I also think that individuals should be allowed to deduct the cost of their health insurance. As it stands now, only employers can do that now.

Been digging around and found this which pretty much answers my questions: Skip COBRA Conventional wisdom says that if you lose your job, you should go on COBRA right away. If you're healthy, you can almost certainly find an individual policy that offers better coverage for way less money. COBRA is meant to be a last resort, so only use it if you can't get real insurance. Don't elect COBRA until you need it Even if you can't find any other insurance options and need to use COBRA, you don't need to actually pay for it until you get sick. You have 60 days before you have to elect into COBRA and another 45 days after that before you have to pay. Once you elect, you receive retroactive coverage. So basically, don't elect until 60 days after you left the company, and don't ever pay unless you actually get sick and need the coverage (or if 105 days passes and you still don't have real insurance). With this loophole, you can be covered by COBRA for 105 days after losing your job without ever paying a dime. Here is a link that might be useful: Copied from this website