Unemployed Workers Get Benefit Of $21 Billion In Medical Insurance Help

[Omaha Steve]

http://www.laborradio.org/node/10535

Another aspect of the stimulus package is to help workers who lose jobs continue receiving health insurance coverage through COBRA. $21 billion of the package is earmarked to provide those workers with a subsidy that will cover 65 percent of COBRA for up to nine months. Federal law allows workers to maintain employer-provided health insurance at 102 percent of the cost.

[burythehatchet]

1. ANother giveaway to the insuance companies, though I recognize people will feel

like they are being helped. Take 30% of that money and skim it off for profit and administration.

[Coyote_Bandit]

2. Only

some unemployed people of course. Some no longer qualify for COBRA coverage and some have already opted out of COBRA because they could not afford it. It's a good deal for the newly unemployed and those struggling to pay their COBRA coverage even though it does not help the rest of the unemployed folks.

[dflprincess]

3. And for someone who is unemployed who lost family coverage,

even 35% of the premium may be more than they can afford.