Many people in the U.S. get their health insurance through their work. As a result, a job loss results not only in the loss of income, but also in the loss of valuable health care benefits. Paying for health care is not just expensive; if you have a break in health coverage, it can be more difficult to get coverage down the road. In order to help alleviate this issue, and provide a transition for workers who lose their jobs, it is possible to use the COBRA program to get access to your company’s health plan. There are different conditions and time limits, however. Most employees can only take advantage of COBRA for up to 18 months.
One of the issues with COBRA, though, has been that you have to pay the whole premium, rather than getting part of it paid for by your employer. This can make COBRA unaffordable to those whose incomes have been diminished by a job loss. In order to help those suffering from job loss in the recent recession, Congress passed a 65% subsidy for laid off workers. This way, workers could receive assistance paying COBRA insurance premiums for 15 months while looking for work. The final three months were paid by the laid off employee. This subsidy expired on June 1, 2010 though, meaning that those laid off since the end of May do not have this subsidy. COBRA insurance is still available to those who want access to an employer health plan, but the subsidy is gone, after being extended more than once.
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