Under COBRA, former employees have the right to continue their health insurance at essentially the same rates as current employees receive. Note the following:1) The former employee receiving health care via COBRA can be made to pay the entire premium, rather than only the employee porton--i.e. while the employee gets the benefit of the group rate, the employer does not have to subsidize him or her.2)  It appears that a small premium (2%) can be charged over the group rate, for the administrative costs.3) While rates are typically fixed for 12 months at a time, they can increase as the plan costs increase.Here is a link to a Dept. of Labor FAQ sheet that you may find informative: http://www.dol.gov/ebsa/faqs/faq_consumer_cobra.HTML