US: Hundreds of thousands of jobless to lose health insurance subsidy

[Hannah Bell]

Large numbers of people in the US will lose federal medical insurance assistance with the expiration of a $25 billion program included in the 2009 stimulus package. The benefit was eliminated for many families beginning December 1, and hundreds of thousands are set to follow each month.

Families that received the subsidy will have their health insurance premiums triple on average, making it extremely difficult to maintain coverage. The program provided assistance to some seven million adults and dependent children, according to a preliminary survey, allowing them to remain insured during unemployment...

The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Obama’s stimulus bill), passed in February, included a subsidy that paid 65 percent of (COBRA) coverage for up to nine months, leaving jobless workers to take care of the remaining 35 percent. On December 1, the first people to apply for the program were dropped, and more will follow every succeeding month.

A report published Tuesday by Families USA...found that COBRA premiums for the average family cost $1,111 per month, leaving only $222 out of $1,333 in average unemployment benefits that such a family receives for other expenses. The report also found that the average COBRA premium exceeds the average unemployment benefit check in a number of states. In Mississippi, for example, “the average monthly COBRA premium is 22 percent higher than the average unemployment payment,” said Kathleen Stoll, director of health policy at Families USA, in a telephone interview.

http://www.wsws.org/articles/2009/dec2009/cobr-d03.shtml

[The_Casual_Observer]

1. Wonder if the payouts to Afgan Warlords exceed $1,111 month.