Laid-off workers can't afford COBRA, report says

[proud2BlibKansan]

America’s ongoing tsunami of pink slips is washing away workers’ health coverage as well as their jobs.

That’s because most laid-off workers cannot afford to pay for temporary continuation of their health insurance through COBRA coverage, according to a report issued this morning by Families USA.

The consumer health advocacy organization said the average national premium cost for family COBRA coverage gobbled up nearly 84 percent of average unemployment benefits in 2008.

The Families USA report focuses on COBRA coverage, which comes from the health provisions of the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1986. COBRA provides temporary coverage to workers and family members when group coverage is lost because of events such as layoffs. The coverage typically goes for 18 months.

more . . . http://www.kansascity.com/382/story/972611.html

[gollygee]

1. They need reports for this kind of thing?

How about just asking people. I know tons of people who have been laid off, and I don't know if I can think of one who has been able to afford COBRA.

[frazzled]

14. Yeah, that's what I was going to say: "D'oh"

When you get laid off, you have no income. COBRA is expensive to keep up. Average cost in 2006 was $9,914 per year, so raise that by at least another 20% for today. That's around $1,000 a month for maintaining insurance. When no paycheck is coming in, that's hard.

[Donnachaidh]

37. try $1200 per month, backdated by a month

That's what we got hit with, when DH lost his job in July. The *finally sent out the notification two months later, with a note that stated they would withhold penalty fees if we came up with *3* months at once.

[awoke_in_2003]

41. I got lucky...

when I changed jobs. I got it in writing that the people hiring would pay for my COBRA until theirs kicked in. I had to write the check, but they would then give me one (immediately). If you have any medical condition and have a lapse in coverage, the new company will claim pre-existing condition and not cover it.

[Phoebe Loosinhouse]

2. More and more people can't afford the health coverage WHILE they're employed

I constantly meet people who cannot afford to cover their entire family because employers ahve whittled away and whittled away at coverages as the costs went higher and higher. It's not uncommon now to find employers who pay 1/2 the cost of the actual employee but a spouse or children are covered entirely at the employee's expense and it's not cheap.

[proud2BlibKansan]

3. Our family coverage is as high as a house payment

It's insane :crazy:

[Confusious]

7. There's nothing wrong with the health system in this country!

LOOK OVER THERE! BRANGELINA!!

sarcasm

[sarcasmo]

10. Don't forget, Wacko Jacko is near death and Oprah has gained weight again.

[ncrainbowgrrl]

4. um. Duh.

They needed a study to confirm this?

[Confusious]

5. Got laid off in April

They wanted $700 a month for insurance. WTF? How am I suppose to pay that?!?!?!?

[lukasahero]

6. We were on COBRA

Had to have it regardless the cost (husband was going through open heart surgery etc...)

It cost $1,100/month for the two of us.

If anyone actually needed a report to tell them that most families can't afford this, they're even bigger idiots than I suspected.

[truedelphi]

25. Similar situation experienced by our household. And since it will take years

To revamp the health insurance situation, my suggestion would be to do an end run - allow for the full amount tax deduction of any monies spent on COBRA.

Instead of that,we paid $ 957 a month; and we had to raid our retirement funds to do it. Penalties etc. One Du'er said we can get a hardship benefit on the tax end of things, I am still looking into that.

Of course, if we had any money we would have a tax accountant doing it for us.

M is now on County MediCal so his health needs are met. But we didn't want to have someone doing his eye surgery unless they were damn good at what they were doing, so Countyprograms were not an option until after the surgery.

[lukasahero]

26. Tax deductions would definitely help and would be quick

The thing that most concerns me is that the Fed Govt is looking at MA health care plans as a model. I took a different job to get decent health care coverage that we could afford (took a sizeable cut in pay to do so, it was that important). Yes, the MA "Universal" health care guarantees we could get coverage - it doesn't guarantee we could afford it.

I can't even begin to describe how f*cked up health care is in this country. For each of the 4 surgeries my husband had the HMO paid $1,500. The cost of each as documented in the EOB was $32,000. Seriously - I didn't mess up the commas and 0's. $32,000 billed. $1,500 paid. A person without insurance would have been billed the $32,000. How seriously f*cked up is that?

[truedelphi]

34. What probably happened with this low ball on surgery bill's amount paid

Someone somewhere inside the hospital brought aboard your husband's place of employment.

I'll give an example: Th employees at Fireman's Fund in Marin County was brought into the insurance umbrella of Marin General Hospital in exchange for one of the executives there taking a job on the Board of Directer's. (Fireman's Fund did auto, home and other insurance. but not health.)

This guarantees that those employees will not be paying into Kaiser or another HMO.

It is vastly screwed up and to me it seems quasi-illegal. But it happens a lot.

[lukasahero]

40. Unfortunately, that's not really likely

My husband used to work for a small IT company - no real reason for one of the most prestigious hospitals in Boston to bring them on. I think that's just the reality we live in now: HMO's get hospitals and doctors to reduce their rates but the doctors and hospitals make up for it by bilking the uncovered consumer.

[LiberalHeart]

58. And on the other hand, my doc has a sign posted saying rates for uninsured are reduced.

So I guess that means the charges being put through to the insurance company are higher simply because the insurance company will pay. By reducing costs for the uninsured, costs for the insurance companies go up. And the cycle continues. We MUST do something about the health care mess. Now.

[sarcasmo]

8. Cobra is expensive, and way to high for it's intended purpose.

[Gman]

9. The only person I know that was fired, quit or otherwise laid off

that could pay COBRA was a friend who's old employment paid the COBRA payments for him. He had quit/retired and had terminal cancer. The COBRA was for the standard 18 months. He lived like 14 months.

[county worker]

11. You get your wages cut to Zero and you health insurance premiums go up.

It takes a study to find out people can't pay for COBRA?

[intheflow]

59. I know!

I work a lot of year or two-long contract jobs, have mostly since I started working in the late '80's, and I've *never* been able to afford COBRA. File this one under WTF Took You So Long To Figure It Out?

[guitar man]

12. $1400 a month

That's what COBRA would cost for my family if I lost my job. Hell, I'm paying $430 a month as it is :(

[Phoebe Loosinhouse]

13. Really, your employer is subsidizing more than many.

Cobra just means you shoulder all the costs of your plan, but you stay in the same plan. So, what is being reveled is:

HEALTH INSURANCE COSTS TOO DAMN MUCH!!!!!

[guitar man]

15. absoultely

My employer has been as good as they can trying to help us for the 8 years I've worked with this company, they ate a lot of costs for a long time but for the last couple years they have had no choice but to raise what we pay. When I figure my health insurance increases against my raises for the last 2 years, it equates to a net pay cut 2 years in a row. :(

[RobinA]

20. Having Been

laid-off twice and quit once, I have a feeling there are middle men handling COBRA who are making money. The first time I was laid off I paid $360 a month for myself, slightly less than individual coverage would have cost. This was in 2001. In 2004 I quit a job and the COBRA, again for one person, was a whooping $900. A second lay off in 2008 came with a $450 COBRA charge, versus $312 for individual coverage. Now, I though employers got special rates. It looks to me like there is quite a premium placed on COBRA coverage, which is now, unlike during my first COBRA experience, administered by a third party.

[Warpy]

16. On the bright side, the nursing shortage is now over

Hospitals are having layoffs because people can't afford to come in and get treated. Census is down in most areas.

Anybody who thinks health care is recession proof needs to think it through.

Gee, what a surprise! People who are thrown out of work at a fraction of what they used to make can't afford to make health insurance executives fatter!

[Morning Dew]

17. big kick and a contribution of "duh!" # 742

[Royal Sloan 09]

18. K & R eom

[Royal Sloan 09]

19. K & R eom

[grace0418]

21. Considering I get $321 a week in unemployment (the max in Illinois after taxes),

there would be no way I could afford COBRA if I needed it. Luckily I'm on my husband's insurance, but some of my former coworkers who were laid off with me are single and not so lucky. When you have to face realities like eating and paying rent, possibilities and eventualities like health insurance become luxuries you can't afford. This country is so fucked up.

[stopbush]

22. COBRA is very expensive.

We had health insurance through my wife's job. A family of 4 cost us $350 a month. Then, I got a new job, so she stopped working full time. She now works under 40 hours a week, so she doesn't qualify for benefits. My employer pays for my insurance coverage. To add the wife and 2 kids to my insurance would cost me $900 a month. So, the wife and 2 kids are now on her COBRA, which costs us $720 a month.

So, family of four with wife working FT = $350.

Wife & two kids on COBRA because she's part-time = $720. And that's only good for 18 months. Down the road, I'll need to put them on my insurance which will cost me $900 a month rather than the $720 we pay now.

Yeah, that's a GREAT option for average people.

If Obama allowed us to buy into the same program as our Congresscritters, I'd be there in a heartbeat.

[Love Bug]

23. No shit, Sherlock!

My COBRA is over $600/mo. for med/dental just for me. That's over 1/4 of my monthly unemployment benefits, which just cover my expenses as it is.

[originalpckelly]

30. 2nded.

[Missy Vixen]

24. In related news, the sky is blue. Water is wet. The sun, it burns.

I want to know how I can get one of these cushy think-tank jobs, then I can afford COBRA.

My husband got laid off in November. We're currently looking at a VERY high deductible insurance coverage, IF they accept us.

Julie

[1776Forever]

27. Equals more foreclosures - more people dieing - more children without health care on & on & on....

Very scary!:scared:

[Cass]

28. They need a report to tell them something so obvious?

Anyone with 2 functioning braincells could have told them this.

:eyes:

[eppur_se_muova]

29. one more joining the DUH chorus. nt

[scorpiogirl]

31. We've been paying for Cobra since August

This was going to be our last month we could afford since my husband got laid off. But now his last contract employer decided they weren't going to pay him for the whole month of December (we're in a dispute over it) and now we suddenly find ourselves without the means to pay for January and to top it off, we've had to give notice at the house we're living in and we don't know where we'll go. Can't afford to spend $1,600 on insurance when you're homeless. It's all a huge cluster-fuck at this point. It's all so ridiculous, it's almost mind-blowing. It's so scary to be without insurance, especially when you have kids.

[Donnachaidh]

39. do you have an schip program in your state?

We gave up Cobra, but were able to get our kid in the schip program in our state. DO look into it - if only for some peace of mind.

[scorpiogirl]

43. I'm not sure, but I'll check it out. Thanks! n/t

[Donnachaidh]

51. We didn't think we'd be able to get it, but we did

It's a godsend that anyone who might be eligible for should apply for. We can deal with being sick, but the kid is the first one to go to the doctor when he's ill. Good luck -- bet you'll feel alot better when you have that help.

[SalviaBlue]

32. I just arranged for Cobra for an employee that was laid off

where I work. I was told that his premium would be 10% more than what we currently pay for him.

How is he going to afford that with no paycheck.

This has got to change (like yesterday).

[backscatter712]

33. I was forced to let mine lapse.

I'm 35 and single, and just for myself, my COBRA cost $450 per month. And I have bad feet which probably should get looked at more than they are. But I just can't afford COBRA on just an unemployment check.

[Daphne08]

35. Well, duh...

I tried keeping up COBRA payments many years ago.

It was a ridiculous choice... food for the family or insurance?

:eyes:

[CharmCity]

36. Ours: $2650/mo.

Three healthy people. No vision, no dental.
I am looking into a state program to buy into...

[Phoebe Loosinhouse]

42. Seriously, I have NEVER heard a figure that high

except for people with serious existing conditions and yet you used the phrase "healthy". OMG!!!!!

Why is your premium so atronomically high? ( if you chose to answer, I respect your privacy, of course) Is this a Cobra or independent plan?

[Telly Savalas]

49. I second what Phoebe says.

Beyond looking into state programs to get coverage, it might be worth talking to somebody at your state's department of insurance about those rates. It's very possible that the insurer is shafting you beyond the allowable limits of state regulations.

[SoCalDem]

38. Duh!

Back when we had to use COBRA, it was costing us almost $850 a month and that was back in the mid 90's.. It's got to be really crushing these days..

"offering" Cobra is a passive aggressive thing to do.. "Hey, we're taking away your paycheck AND your healthcare, but you can pay for it if you want to"..

[PVnRT]

44. COBRA is a joke anyway

Yeah, you can have your old health insurance, you're just going to pay hundreds a month to get it.

[taught_me_patience]

46. Tell that to my sister that beat cancer on while on COBRA

COBRA is essentail health insurance. You are just paying the premium the company paid while employed there.

[Blue Diadem]

45. It's taken them this long to figure that out?

It was that way in '98 when my husband's first plant closed. It was over $1,000 a month then but that included our son's coverage since he was still in school. I don't remember what it was almost 5 yrs later when the 2nd place my husband worked also closed because we knew we couldn't afford to carry it then and I didn't pay attention to the numbers.

We didn't have medical insurance during the time he was off work which was almost a year and whatever the probationary period was.

I'm glad it's finally made the news. It's one more reason why we need to do something about our healthcare.

[4 t 4]

47. Cobra is a joke

I could have had it for $215 a month,yea right when your out of work you can afford that!

[exboyfil]

48. We need a coordinated campaign directed

at middle class conservatives to explain to them the issues associated with health care. COBRA is one example of the problem. My employer tells me that my family health coverage in a high deductible plan is $12,000/yr, and I have no reason to doubt him. Employer tied insurance and preexisting conditions are two huge exposures for everyone (even those with jobs with insurance and no current preexisting condition).

I have been trying at work to explain the situation that an Universal Single Payer Health Insurance is the best option for the country. The Germans get away with 15% of their income in a pretty good plan, so I would hope that we can achieve that level (medical spending is currently 24% of income).

When I was laid off in 1992 I went back to graduate school and got a plan for myself and my wife for less than what my COBRA premium would be. Doubt that I could pull that off now though being 13 years older and having two kids.

I do fully fund my HSA for just reason, but that only works because my family is healthy and we currently have insurance.

[lib2DaBone]

50. Of Course they can't..wages don't even cover the poverty index...

[tritsofme]

52. The worst is when they try to get both spouses on the COBRA when one is over 65.

COBRA is a payor of last resort.

Even though you are paying hundreds dollars a month in premium, Medicare is always primary.

[littlebit]

53. I know that my girlfriend couldn't afford hers

if it wasn't for me helping her. Her COBRA is almost $800 a month. That's two weeks worth of unemployment checks.

[eridani]

54. This needs comment on change.gov

Universal health care!
HR 676!

[wartrace]

55. 84% of unemployment benefits? Try 99.2% where I work.

We are having layoffs, the laid off workers are being offered "Cobra" insurance for 1200 dollars a month. Unemployment is maxed out at 275 dollars. That leaves a "generous" 9.25 a month for all other expenses......

[progressoid]

56. No shit?

This isn't news. It's been that way for at least 18 years (that's the first time I looked into it).

Hasn't gotten any better since.

[dembotoz]

57. cobra is a snake that bites.

it sounded like a good idea when it started.....

[JNelson6563]

60. Shit. I'd've told 'em for 10 bucks.

'Nother missed opportunity.

Julie