Your wife would be entitled to continue the employer coverage under COBRA FOR 18 months from your termination date from the employer. (Your cost for the employer coverage under COBRA would be the actual cost of the insurance to the employer plus a 2% administrative fee from the third party administer of the Cobra plan.) However, if at the end of that 18 months she is still not eligible for Medicare (age 65), she would need to apply for individual insurance until she becomes Medicare eligible, unless your employer offers retiree medical benefits that would also cover dependents. If, however, your wife has a disability, she may be eligible to apply for disability coverage thru Social Security. Once on disability for 24 months, as of the 25th month she would be eligible for Medicare Part A and B even though she may not yet be 65 years old.
