Delaware program
Keep a small employer’s plan (Delaware continuation)
A way to keep an insured small-employer health plan after a job ends or hours fall.
What it is
A way to keep an insured small-employer health plan after a job ends or hours fall.
Continuing the same plan can preserve access to the cancer team during a work change. Delaware’s small-employer route depends on the employer size, plan type and earlier coverage. The full premium can be much higher than your payroll deduction.
Eligibility rules
- The employer normally had 1 to 19 employees on a typical business day in the preceding year.
- You need three months of prior continuous coverage. The event is reduced hours or termination other than gross misconduct.
- The policy must be issued in Delaware and subject to state insurance regulation. Federal continuation coverage places you outside this state law.
What you get
- Up to nine months of the same coverage, at up to 102% of the group premium.
What the help includes
- The benefits office can confirm the card, current network and premium-payment arrangements.
If you decide to apply
- Ask the employer’s benefits office for the written event notice, premium and election deadline.
- Have the plan name, policy number, last work date and proof of three months’ coverage ready.
Employer benefits office · Official page ↗
What happens next
- The employer’s notice is due within 30 days of the event. Your written election is due within 30 days after that notice.
- The benefits office can give the first-premium due date in writing.
Good to know
The election window is 30 days after the employer’s notice. This state route does not cover self-funded plans.
Other details
- Becoming eligible for another group plan or Medicare ends this right; having Medicaid does not.
Official sources
“Would Delaware continuation let us keep this plan after a work change? What would it cost, what are the drawbacks, and could you help us decide whether to elect it?”
Why I’m asking: I want to compare keeping the cancer team’s plan with the cost of paying its full premium.
More background and detailed requirements
Additional program information and published rules
Who does what
The three parts, side by side. The agency decides; nobody on this page does.
You
Ask for the notice in writing, then elect within 30 days and pay the first premium on time.
Your social worker
The employer must notify the administrator, you and the insurer within 30 days of the event.
The care team
Records and letters when the application asks for them.
- Who decides
- The employer and the insurer that issued the group policy.
- Ask HR
- “My job is ending. Please send me the Delaware continuation notice in writing, and tell me the premium and the date my election is due.”
How to apply
First step: Ask the employer in writing for the continuation notice on the last day of work.
- Ask the employer in writing for the continuation notice on the last day of work.
- Diary the 30-day election date the moment the notice lands.
Official application / program page ↗
Where it starts: Ask the employer in writing for the qualifying-event notice, then elect in writing.
What to gather
- The last day of work in writing
- The plan name and policy number
- Proof of coverage for the three months before
How long: The employer has 30 days to notify; you then have 30 days to elect.
Clock: You have 30 days from the employer’s notice to elect continuation.
What a yes looks like
The same card and the same network, with an invoice each month.
What a no looks like, and the next move
Usually employer size, the plan being self-funded, or the three-month coverage rule. Ask which, in writing.
Watch out
- Nine months, not eighteen. Plan the next coverage step from the first month.
- The premium can be the whole group rate plus two percent, which is far more than the payroll deduction was.
- If the plan is self-funded this law does not reach it. Ask the benefits office which kind it is.
The numbers and the rules
The arcane layer, kept on purpose. Checked September 11, 2026.
What it is worth
Up to nine months on the same insured work plan, at up to 102 percent of the group rate.
- $9 — Maximum continuation
- $19 — Employer size covered
- $3 — Prior continuous coverage needed
- $30 — Employer notice deadline
- $30 — Your election deadline after that notice
- $102 — Maximum premium share of the group rate
Legal protection: The same hospital and oncology network stays in place while continuation runs
What it costs the family: Up to 102 percent of the full group rate, which is the employer’s share as well as yours.
The eligibility facts, as published
- Employer size
- an employer that normally employed between 1 and 19 people on a typical business day during the preceding year
- Plan type
- a group policy issued in Delaware by an insurer subject to state insurance regulation; a person already covered by the federal continuation provisions is outside this law
- Qualifying event
- termination other than for gross misconduct, or a reduction of hours
- Exclusions
- Eligibility for other group coverage or Medicare can end continuation before enrollment, subject to the statutory exceptions for Delaware medical assistance and coverage held immediately before the event. The benefits office confirms the actual dates and exception.
The trap: The clocks are short and they are the employer’s first. The employer has 30 days to notify; you then have 30 days to elect. Ask for the notice in writing on the last day of work.
Where I read this
- 18 Del. C. § 3571F — Mini-COBRA small employer group health policies (codification current August 25, 2026) — Delaware General Assembly, read September 10, 2026