Jobless Can Expect COBRA Help
CENTRAL OHIO—The final economic stimulus bill signed by President Barack Obama included a subsidy on COBRA health insurance coverage for laid off workers.
COBRA is the only option for many laid-off workers, but the costs can be astronomical.
A study by nonprofit advocacy group Families USA found COBRA premiums average $388 per month for individuals and $1,069 for family coverage.
That’s equal to 30 percent of unemployment insurance benefits for individuals and a whopping 84 percent for families.
NBC 4’s Candice Lee GOT ANSWERS on how you can sign up.
The COBRA subsidy provides an opportunity to keep medical insurance coverage while you look for work.
Out-of-work Central Ohioans can expect the federal government to pay 65 percent of their COBRA monthly premiums.
“For someone who just lost their job, they don’t have the income that they did. Paying the full cost of health insurance is a great burden. This will help people stay covered,“ Doug Anderson with the Ohio Department of Insurance said.
ELIGIBLITY FAQS
- Anyone without group health coverage who was involuntarily terminated is eligible.
- The timeframe for the benefit is between Sept. 1, 2008, to Dec. 31, 2009.
- The subsidy lasts nine months.
- The subsidy is not available to individuals with incomes more than $125,000 per year or couples making more than $250,000 filing a joint tax return.
HOW TO SIGN UP
- Employers must send forms to former employees so they can elect to continue coverage.
- You have 60 days after receiving the forms to enroll.
- If you declined enrollment or cancelled, you can re-apply for COBRA benefits and qualify for the subsidy.
- Once you begin receiving COBRA benefits, you need only send 35 percent of your monthly payment. Your former employer pays the rest and bills the federal government for the balance.
The Ohio Department of Insurance said it expects further guidance on the COBRA subsidy by mid-March.
The department said if your former employer does not get in touch with you, you should call them.
If your former employer were to refuse your request for the benefit, contact the Ohio Department of Insurance at 800-686-1526.
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Reader Reactions
Gee Great idea! We have an employer laying off 100 employees because of the economy and no money to operate. They have to pay 65% of cobra for the 6 months from 9/1/2008.Assuming 1000.00 family rate thats 390,000.00 dollars. Does any company have that laying around??? Iknow,Iknow “the government” will pay them back someday.
This is the half baked thinking that got us into this mess!
Millions of Americans who lost their jobs prior to September 1, 2008 could not afford Cobra. Millions more elected Cobra but have now depleted their resources and can not continue on. Still millions more with pre-existing conditions who rely on cobra to bridge the 18 month gap between their former employers insurance and their state’s high risk insurance pools are struggling to pay their premiums every month to prevent being locked out of insurance permanently.
Please join us in asking Congress and the Obama administration to eliminate the arbitrary September 1, 2008 cut-off date and 9 month limitation of assistance by signing our petition at http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/cobrareform and telling your friends about our efforts.
For more information on the healthcare coverage issues surrounding the unemployed, please see our website at http://cobrareform.weebly.com/.
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