The federal COBRA subsidy has ended as of June 1, 2010 for many who started receiving it when it was first made available back in March ’09.  According to the article “COBRA Subsidy Expiration” found on insurance newsnet.com, research shows closely priced alternatives to the COBRA subsidy will be available.

The parent company of eHealthInsurance known as eHealth Inc is providing a new comparison of national averages for family health insurance premiums and subsidized COBRA rates.  This is to help recipients better understand the financial impact transitioning off of subsidized COBRA and onto regular health insurance may have.  The difference between the two is not that big, which is great news for those concerned about the switch.

Their comparison shows that families who buy their own non-group health insurance will be paying about $388/month where the average COBRA premium subsidy is about $387, so only one dollar less.  Once the subsidy is gone the COBRA premium averages $1107/mos.  This shows consumers affected by this change may be better off shopping around for major medical insurance quotes.