Q.- One of our COBRA continuants told us he got divorced and we should remove his ex-wife from COBRA coverage. Does the wife have the option to continue her COBRA or do we remove her?
A.- Assuming the COBRA event was termination of employment or reduction in hours, the ex-wife is a COBRA qualified beneficiary in her own right. Not only can the ex-wife continue COBRA coverage after the divorce, the divorce while on COBRA is a second qualifying event. She can continue coverage under COBRA from up to 36 months from the initial qualifying event date.