COBRA Subsidy Ends Today, Putting Unemployed at Risk

Subsidies provided to laid-off workers to help them continue health insurance coverage close today, raising concerns about how the unemployed will cover insurance costs, according to a Tennessean report.

COBRA is a program set up under federal law that allows people who lose their jobs to keep employer-provided insurance for approximately 18 months if they pay the entire premium, plus a small percentage for an administrative fee. Congress first approved a 65 percent subsidy for COBRA premiums to help those who had been laid off in Sept. 2008.

Congress has extended the COBRA subsidy three times through May 2010, but last year, lawmakers pushed back on a further proposed extension. The last people to take advantage of the savings will lose the assistance starting Thursday, Sept. 1.

Workers laid off before May 31, 2010, may enjoy an exception to the rule. If they were allowed by their employers to continue to receive work-sponsored health coverage, their subsidy eligibility would begin when company-paid insurance ended and could extend past Thursday.

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