COBRA subsidies for jobless expires

Today, one of the stimulus package items comes to an end.   COBRA is the program set up under federal law that allows people who lose their jobs to keep the employer-provided insurance, typically for 18 months, if they pay for the premium plus a small percentage for administrative fees-generally around two percent.

In February 2009, Congress approved a 65 percent subsidy for COBRA premiums to help those who had been laid off starting in September 2008.

Congress extended the COBRA subsidy three times to cover workers who lost their jobs through May 2010.  The subsidy lasted for up to 15 months.

Here are two good sources of info:

DOL fact sheet :

http://www.dol.gov/ebsa/newsroom/fsCOBRApremiumreduction.html

and a good article by benefits pro

http://www.benefitspro.com/2011/08/30/6-faqs-about-end-of-cobra-subsidy

Employers told me, in the past year,  that workers would not take job offers because the health care premium they would be would be higher than the subsidized amount.

It will interesting to see what happens now.

DOL news

Updated information posted by Dept of Labor on COBRA: fact sheet, FAQs, poster, flyer for employees, flyer for employers. Updated for the extension of the ARRA premium reduction in the Dept of Defense Appropriations Act, 2010.

COBRA Continuation Coverage Assistance Under The American Recovery And Reinvestment Act Of 2009

Update for this week on COBRA

On Monday, President Obama signed legislation extending the eligibility period for the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act (COBRA) premium reduction through Feb. 28, 2010 — an additional two months — and the maximum period for receiving the subsidy for an additional six months.

Implications? Sometimes the reduced rate with the government (tax funded) subsidy is less than the amount if employed-so why take the position when unemployment checks have been extended too?