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No action on COBRA subsidy until December

November 24th, 2009, 11:46 am · 8 Comments · posted by Mary Ann Milbourn

Congress left on Thanksgiving break without taking any action on extending the current COBRA health insurance subsidy, so any decision will be delayed until at least December.

unemploymentap2medRep. Frank Sestak, D-Penn. introduced one COBRA bill into the House in October.  Jonathan Dworkin, Sestak's spokesman, noted Congress would be off until Monday, Nov. 30, so any action won't take place until next month.

The economic stimulus package approved in February provides a 65% subsidy on COBRA premiums for nine months for those unemployed between Sept. 1, 2008 and Dec. 31, 2009.  It has been a major relief for thousands of unemployed workers who otherwise would not be able to afford the often-expensive COBRA premiums.

Many of those people, however, will exhaust that subsidy at the end of November and are scrambling to figure out how to maintain their health insurance coverage.

Three bills to extend COBRA have been introduced and are in committee awaiting action.  Sestak's bill is H.R. 3930. Separate Senate legislation, S. 2730, was introduced by Sens.  Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, and Robert Casey, D-Penn.

Both of these bills would allow people to get the COBRA subsidy for up to 15 months (up from the current nine months) and would extend eligibility for the subsidy until next June.  Under the Senate bill, the government would pick up 75% of the total premium, up from the current 65%.

A third bill, H.R. 3966, by Rep. Andre Carson, D-Ind., would simply extend eligibility for the COBRA subsidy for people who lose their jobs through next June.  However, no one would be eligible for more than the current nine months of aid.

Dworkin said there is some talk of adding the COBRA extension to an expected jobs bill, but nothing specific has been proposed.  No decision has also been made on how much the extension would cost and how it might be funded.

Did you miss these recent stories on jobs and the economy ...

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 8 Comments

  • icedamericano says:
    November 24, 2009 at 12:04 pm

    It is really a shame they couldn't move on this sooner. If you are on COBRA, as I am, now is the time you need to make open enrollment decisions. Hard to do that when you don't know what you are going to be eligible for next year.

  • ocobserver says:
    November 24, 2009 at 12:44 pm

    mary ann - thanks for being on top of this. I didn't notice how much this subsidy is costing the taxpayer. Do you have any figures?? It must be a huge sum will literally millions getting this 65% subsidy. The average Cobra premium must be over $700. This means the gobblement if forking over about $500 a month for 10 million people. Heck what is that??? $5 billion a month or $60 billion a year??? Oh yes. Chump change. But add this onto unemployment comp, housing subsidies, increase welfare, healthcare, etc..... it's absolutely mind boggling. Simply unsustainable over the mid term. It just can't go on. They are banking on recovery....but we are walking down the same path as Japan. And Japan has been in economic stagnation and disarray for 20 years!!! But there is a BIG difference between the japanese and the americans. They are savers. We are not. Americans have no ace in the hole. The average american has savings enough to last a few months without gobblement help.

    • Techie714 says:
      November 24, 2009 at 2:56 pm

      I agree with you about the importance of savings. I have been saving for many years & now that the economy is really bad I know I can easily chill for about 12 months before starting to really worry (I would NEVER want to do that). I do have a Government job but with a flood of layoff's coming in 2010 you cant save enough.

    • Mary Ann Milbourn says:
      November 24, 2009 at 3:44 pm

      I saw one cost estimate -- $24.7 billion -- which was when the economic stimulus bill was passed, but has not been updated based on actual claims.

  • bob says:
    November 24, 2009 at 9:07 pm

    another hand out. Obama has no clue. Spening instead of creating.
    You could run this country better than these leaders.

  • jefferson smith says:
    November 27, 2009 at 1:28 pm

    i guess the rich bankers and the auto dealers are the only ones who need help??!!!
    u people make me sick..
    I guess helping families who have lost their jobs should , just "not get sick right "
    Maybe they could take the money out of the pentagon budget.??
    700,000,000.00$$$.
    Give me break, its disgusting that this country cant insure all its citizens. thank god obama has tried and help working class poor, our are hospital ER rooms would be over flowing in the O.C. and else where ??
    No compassion is fascist OC .

  • Samuel Song says:
    December 4, 2009 at 12:39 pm

    Let's also remember for those that are on COBRA the extension ran out with the November payment, so you will have to pay the full amount of the costs until the new bill is enacted. My bill went from $248 to $748.

  • Sherry Robinson says:
    December 6, 2009 at 2:34 pm

    I am paying $497.00 per month for my insurance. Because I have family, my payment has gone up to $1421.00. My husband and I have pre existing ailments. I really don't know what I am going to do. I can't afford to full price for COBRA. It's really depressing.