Need an explanation on COBRA?

I recently got fired from my job and am currently looking for a new one. (I've gotten several interviews so hopefully I won't be out of a job long). Today I received paperwork about COBRA, and I'm a little confused about it and couldn't find an explanation that was straight forward enough to clearly answer my question about it.

I have a few appointments this month and medication to pick up that I had scheduled well ahead of time, and I need to know if I'll be able to still use my insurance to cover them? I've figured out something along the lines of a yes, but not clear enough to fully answer what I need.

I see on the paperwork and from what I looked up that there's a grace period to elect into COBRA, and then a 45 day period after that to make required payments. But how does that work if I need to use the insurance before all of that? Will I have to pay the whole price of appointments and medication and then get reimbursed?

submitted by /u/Tiggyloo
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