Is COBRA the Right Choice for Your Health?
Companies offer certain benefits along with base salary and one of the perks of working for a company that has 20 or more employees is the health insurance coverage that is provided. What happens if you lose your job for one reason or another? President Reagan's Administration passed a law in 1986 called the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act that permits employees to retain their existing health insurance coverage under the employer for up to 18 months. Your family also reaps the benefits as your dependents. While employed by the company, you do not have to worry about paying the high premiums for your coverage.
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Recent Updates to COBRA
The recent stimulus plan enacted by the Obama Administration under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) reduces the cost of COBRA premiums by 2/3 for the first 9 months. This decision was due in part by the current economic crisis and huge increase in unemployed Americans that are currently without health insurance. Only 10% of Americans eligible for COBRA insurance in 2006 used it, many because they were unable to afford to pay the full premium after their job loss. The stimulus plan of 2009 will help those that are uninsured because they have pre-existing health conditions and cannot afford alternatives to keep their health coverage that was provided by their employer while looking for a new job.
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What is "Mini-COBRA" All About?
There are certain states that made provisions for the federally-subsidized COBRA coverage where they allow people that work for companies that have less than twenty employees to attain COBRA coverage. The only catch is that depending on what state you live in, the coverage can only last a few months. Some states provide extensions for mini-COBRA for 18 months available in Connecticut, Massachusetts, Nebraska, Nevada, New York, and South Dakota. For those on unemployment, the traditional COBRA financial concerns still apply for mini-COBRA, but the good news is that the ARRA covers 65% of the cost in certain states.
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Get Our Free Consumer Guide to COBRA Today!
In order to help you learn even more about COBRA regulations and news, COBRA-Answers.com has commissioned a special consumer report on the current state of COBRA. We're making this report free to COBRA-Answers.com visitors - click here to download the free COBRA report, "A Consumer's Guide: Everything You Need to Know About COBRA in 2009."