As many Americans had hoped, President Obama is in office and the wheels appear to be in motion. The health care situation in the United States is just as grim as the rest of our economy, so it’s encouraging to see that the new administration is wasting no time rolling up their sleeves to let the health care reform work begin. However, before we get our hopes up that we are going to see some radical changes in the way health care is handled this year, some realistic expectations should be put in place. Rome wasn’t built in a day, and we shouldn’t expect new policymakers to miraculously turn around the somewhat dismal space our health care system has become. But what can we expect in 2009 from our government, and what might health care start to look like?

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Editor’s Preface: The new American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) is a revolutionary step in addressing our most vital economic challenges. A significant portion of the money doled out by the ARRA ($59 billion) will go towards immediately addressing the health crisis. This is the second part in a two-part series on subsidies for COBRA in the ARRA. We have also extensively covered this subject in “COBRA Health Coverage in a Bad Economy” and “Stimulus Package and COBRA Health Coverage.” You can find Part 1 of this series at: “COBRA Health Subsidies and the Economic Recovery Act“

COBRA Subsidies and Your Health Insurance

Knowing who is and isn’t qualified for this 65% COBRA subsidy coverage can get a little sticky. The ARRA only provides the subsidy to AEI, or “assistance eligible individuals.” Who qualifies as one of these special AEI’s? Anyone who is eligible for COBRA coverage on or before September 1, 2008 or on or after December 31, 2009. This is an interesting way of looking at things, because wouldn’t it just be simpler to say anyone on or after September 1, since December 31 falls after that date? Moving on. An AEI is also someone who chooses to use COBRA during the original COBRA period, or during a special period of coverage. Just what is a special period of coverage? This special election period begins on the date of enactment of the ARRA and ends 60 days after the person’s health plan administrator provides the required notice to the individual. You also have to be covered by COBRA via an involuntary termination (covered in my last post) by your former employer’s health insurance coverage plan.

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Editor’s Preface: The new American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) is a revolutionary step in addressing our most vital economic challenges. A significant portion of the money doled out by the ARRA ($59 billion) will go towards immediately addressing the health crisis. This two-part series by Tara Barnes will delve into the benefits of the stimulus package’s COBRA subsidy. We have also extensively covered this subject in “COBRA Health Coverage in a Bad Economy” and “Stimulus Package and COBRA Health Coverage.”

It cannot be denied-COBRA is a huge topic in the United States right now. People are up in arms about COBRA coverage (as can be seen from response here on previous blog postings) and some significant changes and new legislation put into place by the Obama administration may change the face of COBRA.

Spending in the ARRA for Health Insurance and Care Compared with Other Sectors

The ARRA (the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act) was signed on February 17, 2009 and directly affects the COBRA continuation coverage rules. Because so many Americans are upset with the way COBRA coverage works, will these changes benefit or hurt those who need to rely on COBRA to keep their health insurance? Are these new changes really going to make a difference in the things that citizens are frustrating about, like the monthly cost of COBRA? Read on to find out about the new act passed and how it will affect COBRA for those people living in the real world.
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We aren’t talking about cobra as in snake slithering through the grass here, though that imagery is being splashed across the media as COBRA reveals its true colors in the face of this economic crisis the United States finds itself in. COBRA, or Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act, was created back in 1985 to help Americans who lost their jobs to maintain the health care that had been provided through their employer.

According to medheadlines.com, COBRA says the worker can keep coverage for as long as 18 months after employment is terminated but the worker must foot the complete bill.  When employed, the worker paid the worker’s share of the health coverage bill and the employer paid the rest.  Under COBRA, the now-jobless worker pays both the employer and employee shares of the coverage. But as many of the nation’s unemployed are finding out, the program’s promises are far from being met.

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