healthinsurance.org news digest » COBRA health insurance

Professor gets crash course in the frustration of finding affordable health insurance

admin — Thu, 21 Apr 2011 13:52:36 +0000

Kaiser Health News – When Lisa Drew lost her position as a college professor, her unemployment marked the beginning of a frustrating and ultimately unsatisfying search for individual health insurance.

Budget impasse leaves fate of COBRA subsidy extension in limbo

admin — Mon, 21 Jun 2010 17:11:40 +0000

The Hill – As House Democrats worked to scale back a package of tax and jobless benefits, they slashed a provision that would have extended COBRA eligibility for the workers laid off by their employers. The cut is expected to prevent 144,000 families from receiving COBRA benefits. Read more about COBRA health insurance.

Cobra payment aid appears likely to end

admin — Sun, 06 Jun 2010 05:01:41 +0000

MartketWatch – Just a few months after passing comprehensive health reform, U.S. lawmakers appear willing to risk a short-term backslide in the push to reduce the number of uninsured Americans until the overhaul’s major provisions take effect in 2014.

Unemployed face rise in health care

admin — Thu, 03 Jun 2010 19:02:00 +0000

Daily Times – Health-care premiums for millions of unemployed Americans could triple with the expiration of government subsidies to the COBRA program.

Read more about COBRA health insurance coverage.

Millions of unemployed may never recover

admin — Mon, 12 Apr 2010 05:00:59 +0000

The Seattle Times – Despite recent job gains, one grim statistic casts a long shadow over the recovering economy and the futures of more than 6 million workers: Fully 44 percent of the nation’s 15 million unemployed have been out of work for more than six months.

Health Care No Stranger To Reconciliation Process

admin — Wed, 24 Feb 2010 16:14:47 +0000

National Public Radio – To reconcile or not to reconcile – when it comes to a health overhaul bill, that seems to be the biggest argument of the moment. At issue is a process called budget reconciliation. By writing Obama’s health care plan as a budget bill, Democrats can prevent a Republican filibuster in the Senate and advance the bill with a simple majority instead of the 60-vote supermajority they no longer have.

COBRA subsidy extension now in draft jobs bill

admin — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 21:12:07 +0000

Business Insurance – Federal COBRA health insurance premium subsidies would be extended and expanded under a draft jobs bill being put together by top Senate Democrats.

Obama proposes COBRA premium subsidy extension

admin — Mon, 01 Feb 2010 21:12:31 +0000

Business Insurance – Federal COBRA health insurance premium subsidies provided to involuntarily terminated employees would be extended again, the Obama administration proposed Monday.

Jobless Californians Hit Hard By Expiring COBRA Subsidy

admin — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 14:55:01 +0000

Millions of unemployed Californians now have another problem on their hands in addition to looking for new jobs. The federal subsidies that cover 65 percent of the cost of a laid-off worker’s health insurance premium for a period of nine months, are starting to expire.

COBRA health insurance subsidies start expiring

admin — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 22:55:52 +0000

Los Angeles Times – Millions of unemployed Americans face the prospect of a huge increase in health insurance costs, thanks to the looming expiration of a government subsidy, Kathy M. Kristof reports.

Reform Health Care Now: 87 million uninsured, and growing

admin — Thu, 07 May 2009 21:31:06 +0000

Daily Finance – A few months ago, one of my patients approached me with a dilemma. She had been laid off from her job, but had let her employer-sponsored health insurance lapse without signing up for COBRA, which allows terminated employees to pay to continue their health insurance coverage with their previous employer for up to 18 months. She didn’t qualify for government-sponsored insurance because she had a small family savings account. And she was unable to get an individual policy because at that moment she had what insurers classify a “pre-existing condition”: She was pregnant.

Access to COBRA healthcare subsidy may expand

admin — Tue, 31 Mar 2009 21:29:00 +0000

Los Angeles Times – Workers laid off by California’s smallest businesses have a shot at subsidized healthcare under a bill moving quickly through the Legislature.

COBRA’s a conundrum for many who lose jobs

Editor — Mon, 30 Mar 2009 14:34:55 +0000

The Miami Herald – The federal stimulus package will pay 65 percent of the cost of COBRA health insurance for those being laid off, but it’s unclear how big a difference that will make to people in South Florida who’ve lost their jobs.

Stimulus package changes COBRA

Editor — Sun, 22 Mar 2009 20:03:26 +0000

Wilkes-Barre News – The financial worries that accompany the loss of a job during a recession are many. Debra Waszkiewicz of Wilkes-Barre lost her job last May and does not qualify for the new COBRA coverage plan change for the unemployed.

Laid off? Tips to keep health coverage

Editor — Thu, 19 Mar 2009 07:02:28 +0000

CNNMoney.com – With pink slips accelerating nationwide, health care experts say it’s a good idea for everyone – even those who feel their job isn’t at risk – to know about their health care rights and options.

Boost to health coverage planned

Editor — Mon, 09 Mar 2009 22:26:50 +0000

Boston Globe – Massachusetts will combine federal stimulus money with an existing state assistance program so that thousands of unemployed residents will be able to get health insurance at a small fraction of the usual cost, state officials are expected to announce today.

Click here to see Massachusetts’ State Health Guide.

COBRA change may delay health care funds

admin — Mon, 02 Mar 2009 15:43:28 +0000

Associated Press – The Obama administration rushed to include a health care safety net for laid-off workers in the recently signed stimulus bill, but has not told employers exactly how to make it work.

When COBRA is de-fanged

Editor — Fri, 27 Feb 2009 14:17:16 +0000

Health Insurance Resource Center BLOG – They say everything is bigger in Texas, and sadly, they’re dead-on when it comes to this depressing statistic: that no other state in the nation has a larger percentage of residents who don’t have health insurance. According to the United Health Foundation’s 2008 report, America’s Health Rankings, 24.9 percent of Texans didn’t have health insurance. That’s more than 5 million Texans just waiting for a health care catastrophe.

Click here to see Texas’ State Health Guide.

Stimulus Makes Cobra Coverage a Better Bet

Editor — Thu, 19 Feb 2009 18:28:08 +0000

The Wall Street Journal – Congress has just given a big assist to millions of jobless Americans facing a tough decision: Do they reach into their wallet to continue health insurance coverage with their old employer or not?

Unemployed? Stimulus plan has you (partly) covered

Editor — Mon, 16 Feb 2009 15:13:24 +0000

Los Angeles Times – As the days wound down to final passage of the national stimulus bill, Booster Shots reported the tentative provisions that the package was expected to include on subsidies to those paying for COBRA, the health-insurance extension that many employers are required to offer to workers they have laid off for up to 18 months after their departure.

Job loss: Stimulus package includes health insurance subsidy

Editor — Tue, 10 Feb 2009 15:16:59 +0000

Booster Shots (blog) Los Angeles Times – If you are among the 1.5 million Americans who have lost their job since September 2008 and are paying to extend your company-sponsored health insurance under a law called COBRA, studies confirm what you already know: The payments are killing you.

Health Insurance: What You Need to Know

admin — Mon, 02 Feb 2009 18:00:33 +0000

The New York Times – With Americans spending an ever increasing amount on medical costs, it’s more important than ever to have insurance that fits your health care needs. So when you start shopping for a plan, don’t just look for one with the lowest premiums. Consider the services that are most important to you.