COBRA Subsidy Proposed
A.M. Best reports that under an $825 Billion stimulus package proposed by house democrats, many Americans who have been laid off from their jobs since 9/1/2008 could have up to 65% of their COBRA insurance payments subsidized by the federal government.
The house bill that has been named The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, allocates $39 billion to aid individuals seeking to continue paying their health insurance premiums through COBRA. COBRA can be very expensive for individuals and families, and only an estimated 20% of those eligible enroll.
As non-group health insurance has evolved over time, and more health care options have become available for those without access to group health plans, individual health insurance has become an increasingly attractive option for families as an alternative to COBRA coverage, primarily due to their cost effectiveness, but somewhat due to the diverse coverage options such as PPOs, HMOs, point-of-service plans, HSAs and other health insurance instruments that years ago were only available to large groups.
