by Margaret Steen, for Yahoo! HotJobs
When you're laid off from your job, one of the many challenges you face is continuing your health insurance.
It's important to consider all your options. If you have an employed spouse, joining his or her plan may be your best bet. If your income is low enough, you may qualify for a government-funded program. If you're in good health, you may be able to find a reasonably priced individual policy.
Many workers, though, turn to COBRA coverage, which allows workers who leave their jobs to keep the group coverage they had while employed.
The problem is that you have to pay the premiums yourself. This can cost hundreds of dollars per month and is a tall order when you have just lost your income.
Now, however, the federal government is offering help with these costs.
"COBRA is an option," said Ankeny Minoux, president of the Foundation for Health Coverage Education, a national nonprofit that provides information for the uninsured on how to obtain coverage. "Before the stimulus bill, it wasn't always your best option."
Here are basic facts about COBRA coverage:
* It's available to workers who leave their jobs -- voluntarily or involuntarily -- if they had group coverage through their employer and are no longer covered. Their dependants can also continue their coverage through the group plan.
* It doesn't last forever: Normally, workers who leave their jobs can keep it for 18 months.
* It's not available if the group plan that covered you no longer exists -- for example, if your company goes out of business.
* The federal COBRA law covers employees of companies with 20 or more employees, though some states extend coverage to employees of smaller companies.
These facts haven't changed. What has changed is the cost. The federal stimulus bill that was passed in February contained money for the federal government to pay 65 percent of COBRA premiums for up to nine months for people who qualify.
"There's certainly plenty of confusion out there about how the subsidy works and the details of it," said Wendy Nice Barnes, vice president of human resources for eHealth, an online health insurance broker for individual and family policies.
Those details are still being sorted out; for updates, go to www.dol.gov/ebsa/cobra.html.
Here's what you need to know about the federal subsidy:
* Only people who are laid off between Sept. 1, 2008, and the end of 2009 (and their dependants) qualify for the subsidy. People who leave their jobs voluntarily or whose employment ended before Sept. 1, 2008, qualify for COBRA coverage but not for the subsidy.
* If you're eligible for another group plan (through your spouse's employer, for example), you are not eligible for the subsidy.
* If you were laid off between Sept. 1, 2008, and Feb. 16, 2009, and turned down COBRA coverage, you will have a second chance to enroll. You should get a notice from your employer by mid-April, and you will have 60 days from the date of that notice to enroll.
* The subsidy is not available for coverage before Feb. 17.
* If your income exceeds $125,000 ($250,000 for joint filers), you will have to repay some or all of the subsidy with your income taxes.
When you're laid off from your job, one of the many challenges you face is continuing your health insurance.
It's important to consider all your options. If you have an employed spouse, joining his or her plan may be your best bet. If your income is low enough, you may qualify for a government-funded program. If you're in good health, you may be able to find a reasonably priced individual policy.
Many workers, though, turn to COBRA coverage, which allows workers who leave their jobs to keep the group coverage they had while employed.
The problem is that you have to pay the premiums yourself. This can cost hundreds of dollars per month and is a tall order when you have just lost your income.
Now, however, the federal government is offering help with these costs.
"COBRA is an option," said Ankeny Minoux, president of the Foundation for Health Coverage Education, a national nonprofit that provides information for the uninsured on how to obtain coverage. "Before the stimulus bill, it wasn't always your best option."
Here are basic facts about COBRA coverage:
* It's available to workers who leave their jobs -- voluntarily or involuntarily -- if they had group coverage through their employer and are no longer covered. Their dependants can also continue their coverage through the group plan.
* It doesn't last forever: Normally, workers who leave their jobs can keep it for 18 months.
* It's not available if the group plan that covered you no longer exists -- for example, if your company goes out of business.
* The federal COBRA law covers employees of companies with 20 or more employees, though some states extend coverage to employees of smaller companies.
These facts haven't changed. What has changed is the cost. The federal stimulus bill that was passed in February contained money for the federal government to pay 65 percent of COBRA premiums for up to nine months for people who qualify.
"There's certainly plenty of confusion out there about how the subsidy works and the details of it," said Wendy Nice Barnes, vice president of human resources for eHealth, an online health insurance broker for individual and family policies.
Those details are still being sorted out; for updates, go to www.dol.gov/ebsa/cobra.html.
Here's what you need to know about the federal subsidy:
* Only people who are laid off between Sept. 1, 2008, and the end of 2009 (and their dependants) qualify for the subsidy. People who leave their jobs voluntarily or whose employment ended before Sept. 1, 2008, qualify for COBRA coverage but not for the subsidy.
* If you're eligible for another group plan (through your spouse's employer, for example), you are not eligible for the subsidy.
* If you were laid off between Sept. 1, 2008, and Feb. 16, 2009, and turned down COBRA coverage, you will have a second chance to enroll. You should get a notice from your employer by mid-April, and you will have 60 days from the date of that notice to enroll.
* The subsidy is not available for coverage before Feb. 17.
* If your income exceeds $125,000 ($250,000 for joint filers), you will have to repay some or all of the subsidy with your income taxes.
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