COBRA requires that group health insurance plans sponsored by employers with 20 or more employees in the prior year offer employees and their families an opportunity for a temporary, 18-month extension of health coverage, when such coverage would normally end. Qualified individuals must pay the entire premium that would otherwise be paid by the employer, plus a 2 percent administrative fee. Generally, only about 10 percent of workers eligible for COBRA benefits elect them, usually because they are unable to afford the cost following the loss of a job.