Does your group health plan specify that a COBRA election must be made no later than 60 days after the date on which coverage terminates by reason of a qualifying event? If not, you may be asking for trouble. In a recent decision of the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, the court found that COBRA's 60 day election period is only a minimum election time period, and that a group health plan is free to establish a longer period of time. The court then concluded that since neither the plan involved in the case nor COBRA itself limited the length of the elections period, the plaintiff in the case "could elect COBRA coverage anytime within the eighteen month maximum period allotted for continuation coverage." (Lifecare Hospitals, Inc. v. Health Plus of Louisiana, Inc., __ F. 3d ____ (5th Cir., July 20, 2005) (copy attached).) So, if your group health plan doesn't specify a cutoff date for making COBRA elections, you may want to make sure that it is changed to do so.