You can check how much it will cost if you leave the employee and your 6-month-old baby on COBRA while you get the rest of the family on individual or family medical insurance plan. Some companies offer a good low/no deductible family medical insurance plan at $1,200 a month--without maternity benefits--but you can opt for a high deductible plan too, whichever may be convenient for the whole family. Other companies have family medical insurance policies at $500 a month which may have a significant deductible amounting to probably $5,000. However, you have to remember that COBRA is good for only 18 months and even if at that time, the hole in your child’s heart is treated he may still not be eligible for a family medical insurance. In this case, since you are living in California, you may try to check California’s Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIPS) as early as now so by the time COBRA epires you still have something to fall back on. Under CHIPS, California insures up to 100,000 children who have no health insurance in the first year and 500,000 children within three years. You may not have to include him in the family medical insurance plan you decide to get. - June 16, 2009 @ 5:20