According to the California Insurance Code 10128.59 For the special Cal-COBRA etension to apply, you must have become eligible for COBRA after January 1, 2003, and the employer's master policy must be issued in California. If the group master policy is not issued in California, then the employer must employ 51% or more of its employees in California and have its principal place of business in California for their California employees to take advantage of Cal-COBRA.' If you are unable to obtain standard issue Individuals due to a pre-eisting condition, you can apply for a guaranteed issue HIPAA plan in California. This is a permanent issue policy, meaning it does not have an 18 month enrollment limit like COBRA. You can stay on the plan as long as you continue to pay the premium and do not reach the lifetime maimum benefit associated with the HIPAA plan that you choose. You must enroll in a HIPAA plan within 63 days of the epiration date of your current COBRA plan.'