New Hampshire program
Keep an insured work plan after coverage ends
A way to keep an insured work health plan after coverage would otherwise end.
What it is
A way to keep an insured work health plan after coverage would otherwise end.
Keeping the same plan can preserve access to the cancer team during a job change. New Hampshire’s continuation law applies to insured group plans, with exclusions. The price and election date matter when comparing it with another plan.
Eligibility rules
- The law covers a New Hampshire resident under a qualifying insured group policy, including a policy issued elsewhere.
- Employers of one are excluded. State insurance law does not govern self-funded plans.
What you get
- The same insured plan for up to 18 months, at your own cost.
- Up to 39 weeks when the whole group policy ends.
What the help covers
- You pay the full premium plus up to 2%. You get at least 45 days from the notice to decide, and the first payment is due with your election form; if it is missed, there is a 30-day grace period. If the employer is large enough for federal COBRA, its deadlines apply instead, so ask HR which one you are under.
If you decide to apply
- Ask payroll for the dated continuation notice, election form and premium amount.
- Ask the hospital financial counselor to compare the plan’s cancer coverage and cost with other options.
The employer and the insurer · Official page ↗
After you apply
- The state notice must allow at least 45 days to elect. The social worker can help you compare the dated notice, first-premium requirements and any more generous federal COBRA rights before you choose.
Good to know
The 45-day clock runs from the notice. Self-funded plans follow different rules.
Other details
- Federal COBRA is a separate possible route; its election period is not the state’s 45-day period.
Official sources
“Would keeping our work plan preserve treatment access, and what would it cost compared with another plan? Could you help us check the notice before we choose?”
Why I’m asking: I want to avoid a treatment gap without agreeing to a premium we cannot afford.
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 45 days of its date.
Your social worker
The social worker checks the oncology team stays in network on whichever plan you choose.
The care team
Records and letters when the application asks for them.
- Who decides
- The employer and the insurer.
- Ask HR
- “Is our plan insured or self-funded? Please send the continuation notice and election form in writing, with the date on it.”
How to apply
First step: Ask the employer in writing for the continuation notice and election form, and write down the date on it.
- Ask the employer for the continuation notice in writing on the last day of work.
- Diarise 45 days from the date on the notice.
- Compare the premium with a Marketplace plan and check the oncology team is in both.
Official application / program page ↗
Where it starts: Ask the employer in writing for the continuation notice and election form the day the job or the hours change.
What to gather
- The continuation notice with its date
- The plan's premium
- Whether the oncology team is in network
How long: Elect within 45 days of the notice.
What a yes looks like
The same card, the same network, a bill for the premium.
What a no looks like, and the next move
The employer says the plan is self-funded, or that the dismissal was for gross misconduct. Ask about the federal rule and the Marketplace instead.
Watch out
- The 45 days run from the notice, not from the last day of work.
- Self-funded plans sit outside state insurance law; ask the employer which kind it is.
- Employers with a single employee are outside the provision.
If they say no, quote this: New Hampshire group continuation: RSA 415:18, XVI.
The numbers and the rules
The arcane layer, kept on purpose. Checked September 11, 2026.
What it is worth
Keep the insured work plan going for up to 18 months, elected within 45 days of the notice.
- $18 — Ordinary continuation period
- $39 — Continuation where the whole group policy ends
- $45 — Days from the notice to elect
Covers: The same plan, the same network, the same deductible progress
Legal protection: Covered New Hampshire residents are protected even where the group policy was issued elsewhere · Employers with one employee are outside the provision · Dismissal for gross misconduct and the carrier's own termination are excluded
What it costs the family: The family pays the premium. No published rate cap was found.
The eligibility facts, as published
- Plans
- insured group hospital and medical expense policies as the statute defines them; employers of one are excluded
- Residency
- a covered New Hampshire resident, including where the group policy was issued in another state
- Election
- 45 days from the notice
- Duration
- 18 months; 39 weeks where the whole group terminates
The trap: The clock is 45 days from the notice, not from the last day of work. Ask for the notice in writing the day the job ends, and diarise the date.
Where I read this
- RSA 415:18, Group Policy Provisions — NH General Court, read September 10, 2026