Losing your 65% COBRA subsidy (Thousands begin to lose discount on premiums in as little as 10 days)

Money.CNN ^ | 11/19/09

[Libloather]

Losing your 65% COBRA subsidy
The government discount only lasts 9 months and it may not be extended. Here's some health insurance options.
November 19, 2009: 11:17 AM ET

NEW YORK (CNN) -- Thousands of people will begin to lose a major discount on their COBRA health care premiums in as little as 10 days. Here's what you can do:

1. What's happening

First, let's briefly go over what COBRA is.

It's a health care plan that allows you to continue group health care coverage after you've been laid off.

Back in February, the government provided a 65% subsidy for COBRA premiums for those who were unemployed. That meant you only had to come up with 35% of the premium. But for those people who signed up in March, that subsidy is going to expire at the end of the month. And on December 1st, instead of paying that 35% of premiums, you'll be on the hook for 102% of COBRA premiums. And that's not a small matter.

You may have to pay nearly three times more out of your own pocket to continue their health insurance under COBRA, according to eHealthinsurance.com. Under the subsidy, the average cost is $398 per month per family. But after the subsidy expires, the monthly payments would jump to $1,137, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation. Keep in mind that if you just started receiving the COBRA subsidy benefit, you still have nine months until it expires.

2. Your options

If your subsidy is going to expire and you still don't have employer-sponsored coverage, make sure you try to get on your spouses' health care plan if they have employer-based coverage.

If that is not possible, start comparing prices on private market plans.

[Libloather]

Think Deathcare™.

[OneWingedShark]

So, is this good news for GI Joe?

;)

[randita]

The author actually thinks that Congress is not going to renew this subsidy? Of course, they’ll renew it, just like they keep extending unemployment benefits and housing purchase grants.

[jersey117]

This is stunning. obama made a point of saying that people who lose their jobs shouldn’t have to lose their healthcare. Now they won’t be able to afford COBRA. What a lying POS.

[Beagle8U]

“The author actually thinks that Congress is not going to renew this subsidy?”

They may not. The RATS might use this to try to get more people on board with their ‘kill granny’ bill.

[wrench]

If you lose your job, where are you going to get the money to keep buying health insurance? When I lost mine, COBRA looked good, but I had no money to pay for it.

[GeronL]

$1,137 a month for an unemployed person to keep their health insurance?

Letting it expire is another way they can get people to demand govcare I guess.

[heylady]

I pay $500 for Cobra. They were laying off all the older employees at the hospital I worked at. I was secretly planning on leaving anyway and told them I would volunteer for a lay off. They wouldn’t do it. So I had to resign and wound up paying the full Cobra fee.

[ottbmare]

I hope you’re right and they do renew it. I have a chronic health problem that has the potential to be fatal if I don’t get correct care and medication, but the money to pay the full COBRA cost just is not there with the end of my job.

[Buckeye McFrog]

Just taking the new method of social control out for a little test drive. Hook as many people as possible on benefit dependency, then keep having little deadlines and expirations hanging out there so you can keep them in constant panic so you can take credit for coming to the 11th hour rescue and tell them that “you know, if the Republicans had been in charge your “X” benefits would have expired”.

[MSSC6644]

For those with health problems, this is frightening. I agree that the fear is being used as a motivational technique to keep citizens reliant on government. When I lost my job and my health care, I got busy.

First, I talked to my doctor and asked if he would change as many of my prescriptions as possible (I take six) to generics. I also investigated buying two others from Canada. Today, I spend approximately $120 over three months for all my prescriptions.

My doctor has also allowed me to go on a program where I pay a lowered cost for my office visits since he saves on insurance paper costs. He has also cut the number of blood tests per visit. Most primary care physicians will work with you. They are not fond of the government either.

[verity]

I applaud your initiative.

[longtermmemmory]

And YET the democrats REFUSE to allow cross state insurance competition....

[KittenClaws]

If your subsidy is going to expire and you still don't have employer-sponsored coverage, make sure you try to get on your spouses' health care plan if they have employer-based coverage.

Silly and misleading suggestion. If a health care plan is available through a spouses' employer, the COBRA 65% discount subsidy is not available anyway. Sure, insurance can be extended through COBRA, but at full price if ANY other options are available.