COBRA Benefits Extension – Increase Subsidy from 65% to 75% in 2010
Posted on | December 10, 2009 | 15 Comments
President Obama and Congress have expressed the interest n a COBRA benefits extension. At this point, COBRA benefits are set to run out on December 31st, 2009. Congress has created a bill that will not only extend COBRA benefits through June but it will also increase the current subsidy of 65% to 75%. There is also legislation that could be attached to this bill that would increase unemployment benefits by $25 a week and would stop the income tax on the first $2400 of benefits received by unemployed Americans.
Health care has been a major topic of conversation in Washington over the last several months and do not be surprised to hear much more about a COBRA extension over the next few weeks. Before Congress recesses for the Holidays many members would like to get this issue and the issue of unemployment benefits resolved. Some analysts and politicians feel that it is going to be impossible to get a bill signed into law before 2010 but only time will tell.
With the unemployment rate still in the double digits and the increased winter energy costs in most states we are going to see a very troubling time for those who are unemployed. Many of these unemployed Americans are finding it very difficult to make ends meet financially and they are just digging themselves further and further in debt if they can even qualify for a loan or credit card. An extension of COBRA and unemployment will greatly assist these individuals in getting through the winter months.
If the current economy and your financial struggles have gotten you down make sure to check out the inspirational blog My Life After Retail. The blog is an account of the journey to find peace of mind and happiness in today’s society.
Author: Jeremy North
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15 Responses to “COBRA Benefits Extension – Increase Subsidy from 65% to 75% in 2010”
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December 10th, 2009 @ 10:08 am
As of right now there are 19 senators sponsoring (S.2730) to extend the COBRA benefits. I just wish that the senate would quit wasting time with a so called December “deadline” for some soft of healthcare bill. Stop the bleeding first!
December 10th, 2009 @ 10:36 am
Encouraging news. My health insurance will be unaffordable once the subsidy expires. Individual insurance will cost even more!
December 10th, 2009 @ 11:47 am
How can we track this legislation, please. Is there a Senate or House Bill number yet?
December 10th, 2009 @ 12:44 pm
Does this mean that if you are on EB that will run out in March 2010 that you can take advantage of the newest extension if available. And how long would that be? Hopefully I will not have to use that.
December 10th, 2009 @ 1:02 pm
Congress needs to get the Unemployment and Cobra Extension and Subsidy signed into law before they go to holiday break. These bills were introduced in October and they knew they would be expiring this year. They should work around the clock to get this into law now!!!
December 10th, 2009 @ 1:03 pm
These knuckleheads don’t realize the subsidy expired for people that were enrolled in March. I had to pay full premium because with my wife’s pre existing conditions, no one would cover us. After next month, we go without insurance because we cannot pay for the roof over our head and the full Cobra amount. I honestly don’t know why they let it lapse in the first place. Congress is full of self serving, big business minded phonies. They don’t give a hoot about the average citizen.
Now if this bill was for AIG or Goldman Sachs you could bet your last taxed dollar that they would have ran this through Congress in two days.
December 10th, 2009 @ 2:44 pm
An extension of the COBRA benefit is very necessary. My premium went from a very doable $280/month to $711 for December. I can not afford to not insure my husband who has a chronic condition, requiring hospitalization several times a year. Congress, please take care of this before the holidays!
December 10th, 2009 @ 3:00 pm
The recent news out of Detroit that the city Coronor is having funding problems to bury unclaimed bodies is sobering.
Without making affordable healthcare available to the unemployed and the employed but without health coverage will create in the US the “people dying on the street” scene one sees in India and other third world countries. Maybe we are becoming a third world nation, it is just we don’t know it, yet
December 11th, 2009 @ 4:59 am
ALl of the time is being spent on heathcare which won’t help anyone for at least 5 years if ever. My preminum goes from $550 a month to $1,550 this month if I pay it. My understanding too is that if you leave Cobra you can’t get back in.
I’m holding out until the last possible day then I’ll pay one month to see if they do something.
December 14th, 2009 @ 10:28 am
Tick…tick…tick…let’s go and get this on the floor already. It should be on the agenda this week because it is a priority. We need to have a decision either way in time to react to our insurance options for January. The decision to drop a family COBRA plan is real and this would cause a huge mess if nothing happens w/i 2 weeks. The media should shine some light here and get people talking. Dragging feet does no good.
December 14th, 2009 @ 11:42 am
For those losing their COBRA subsidy or who are struggling to find free or low-cost healthcare services, there are many community-based programs for healthcare services you may not be aware of. I would suggest downloading a book called The Healthcare Survival Guide at http://www.healthcaresurvivalguide.com. This book contains tips to save money, information on free or low-cost services and more. The book is currently being offered for free as a download from the publisher’s website but it can also be found on amazon.com for $6.95. To view the book, you need Adobe Acrobat Reader on your computer, and must register with the website.
December 14th, 2009 @ 12:17 pm
Congress get off your a** already and pass this! If I lose the subsidy my premium goes from $360 to almost $1100 a month! I will have to choose between keeping my home or keeping my health insurance! Not a choice I want to make! It’s the governments policies that have made this economy worse. The least you can do since you have destroyed the job market is help us keep our insurance until the job market improves.
December 14th, 2009 @ 4:54 pm
Here’s my concern. Just got laid off and my company is providing benefits to the end of Dec 31, 09 which means I am not eligible for Cobra premium reduction unless the extension includes new filers like me that won’t be eligable ’til Jan 1, 2010.
December 16th, 2009 @ 4:36 pm
CONGRESS JUST PASSED THE BILL TO EXTEND COBRA SUBSIDY!!!
THANK YOU GOD!
http://www.businessinsurance.com/article/20091216/NEWS/912169994
December 21st, 2009 @ 8:49 am
If all of us that have been paying for insurance get to the point where we can’t afford it, we can start using the emergency rooms like a doctor’s office. The illegals … and the smart ones do.