When a qualified beneficiary is on COBRA and becomes entitled to Medicare, he or she would then drop continuation coverage under COBRA and enroll into the Medicare option. COBRA may only be continued in conjunction with Medicare if the employee was enrolled in Medicare prior to his or her COBRA qualifying event. If the latter applies, then the qualified beneficiary may enroll in COBRA continuation as a supplement to Medicare. In order for a Medicare qualifying event to occur, the spouse of the entitled employee must lose coverage as a direct result of the employees' enrollment into Medicare. This can happen in line with retirement or termination of employment when the beneficiary's Medicare entitlement is in line with the last month of employment. A true Medicare related COBRA qualifying event would allow the spouse of the employee to be eligible for COBRA benefits for 36 months.