Most understand health benefits, so a terminated employee will typically get an appropriate COBRA notice. But other employee benefits are less understood. Here are some suggestions, which are based on assumptions that your D was working in a job the provides a full range of benefits:
Your D should call HR today and ask for copies of: (1) her current year benefits enrollment information; (2) any short-term disability policy or plan; (3) any long-term disability policy or plan; and, (4) any life insurance policy or plan.
She should ask how apply for STD benefits. If the HR person says she is ineligible, rather than helping her apply, ignore the HR person and apply according to the instructions in the STD policy or plan. Your D’s application would be based on the assumption she was disabled (according to the employer) before she was terminated. STD benefits are generally tied to the very specific job your D was performing, so if the employer required her to work 70 hours a week, and she was not able to do that, she may qualify.
A typical LTD insurance policy will define disability based upon “own occupation” for 24 months and “any occupation” thereafter. An LTD insurance carrier is less likely to recognize a specific employer’s 70-hour per week requirement, if that is the only requirement that can’t be met. But who knows. Some LTD policies require premiums to continue during the waiting period (when STD is typically paid). Find out this answer, so your D can pay the LTD premium if necessary.
Portability/Conversion. Unlike COBRA, people (including HR) rarely understand the Portability/Conversion rights in employer provided Life and LTD insurance policies. But, these are extremely important for individuals with mental illness who might otherwise not be insurable. A person with life (and often LTD) insurance through work may have 30 days after an employment termination to pay to continue the same insurance or to convert it to an individual insurance policy with the same carrier. Because of the group insurance coverage that was in place as an employee benefit, the individual may avoid pre-existing condition limitations and medical underwriting (that would result in rejection or outrageously high premiums). I believe (but am not certain) that the cost of ported/converted coverage is typically based on age alone.
Employer provided life policies often convert only to whole life type policies, which may seem expensive compared to term life policies. Since a person with a serious mental illness might not be able to get that term life insurance coverage, it may not be expensive for our children.
MI Limitations – STD almost never offers different (reduced) benefits for mental illness. A typical LTD policy will have a 24 month limitation for certain types of mental illness, while benefits for physical disabilities may continue to age 65 or later. The definitions of mental illness in this type of limitation can be difficult to apply/understand, as some conditions (like bi-polar and schizophrenia) may be treated as a physical brain condition not subject to the limitation (without policy language making this clear).
Pre-existing conditions – STD almost never has a pre-existing condition limitation, but most LTD benefits do. A typical LTD policy will require 12 months of coverage/employment before the onset of disability to eliminate the pre-ex limitation. It might make sense to pay for a ported/converted LTD policy (on which the 12 months will have already run) until the pre-ex period has expired at your S/D’s next job. If your S/D happened to get coverage under an LTD policy without a 24 month MI limitation, it may make sense to continue paying for that coverage forever.