Special Enrollment BCBS, how can I delay insurance coverage with new job to maintain COBRA for as long as possible.

Essentially husband accepted a new job offer which doesn’t provide the same health benefits. Current employer may or may not cover insurance until end of March. If we extend our current benefits through COBRA, current health benefits coverage ends once the new employer’s coverage begins. Ending COBRA prematurely is a matter of losing $20,000 that was “pre”-pre-approved. (Emergency surgery delayed what was already set into motion)

We are racing the clock, but this is a matter of needing to “regain” pre-approval which will likely not happen with retroactive coverage (need to retest to re-qualify for medical necessity). Our BCBS status will not be active in real time for possibly most of March. April 1st is likely when husband’s new employer’s coverage begins and therefore COBRA ends. We may be paying for coverage we can’t entirely use.

It would be helpful to delay new employer’s health coverage, maintain current benefits until they can be utilized. How could we approach delaying new employer’s health coverage to begin in May?

*start date for new job is this Monday.