Federal subsidy for health-care coverage expires

[OhioChick]

Wednesday August 31, 2011 7:11 AM

WASHINGTON — One of the key consumer benefits of the federal stimulus package — subsidies to help laid-off workers continue their health-care coverage — draws to a close today, raising concerns about how the unemployed will cover those expenses.

It’s a problem that Holly Jespersen knows firsthand. She lost her job twice in the past two years — both times losing her employer-paid health insurance. But the second time, she paid about $350 a month more for insurance than she had the first time because she didn’t qualify for the subsidy. “It made a huge difference for me,” said Jespersen, 36, of Darien, Conn. “I wish I still had it.”

Jespersen was one of millions of laid-off workers to benefit from the federal subsidies for COBRA, a 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 the entire premium plus an administrative fee.

In February 2009, Congress first approved a 65 percent subsidy for COBRA premiums to help those who had been laid off starting in September 2008. While Congress extended the COBRA subsidy three times to cover workers who lost their jobs through May 2010, lawmakers last year resisted another extension amid concerns about the federal budget deficit.

More: http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/national_world/2011/08/31/federal-subsidy-for-health-care-coverage-expires.html