It will get vastly cheaper for most people to keep health insurance after losing a job if the government’s stimulus plan becomes law. Some nickel and dime cuts in health coverage for the poor will be reversed, too. Geek jobs in medicine will grow.
Under a dramatic, temporary expansion of COBRA, the law that lets the unemployed keep health insurance from their old job for up to 18 months if they pay for it in full, costs would drop by about two-thirds for a year.
Moreover, people who lose a job they’ve had for 10 years could stay on COBRA at their expense all the way to age 65, when Medicare takes over, if they don’t get another job with insurance first. People 55 and over could do the same without meeting the 10-year requirement.
Source: AP
LayoffBlog.com 
Finally all the job cuts have made health insurance companies think twice before kissing that premium good bye as most people chose to become uninsured.
Comment by Sam — February 2, 2009 @ 4:06 pm |
Not bad. 18 months is more than enough for me. I don’t expect to be unemployed long. I wonder what effect this will have on the price of health insurance.
Comment by myphotoscout — February 2, 2009 @ 4:30 pm |
This is a needed change. If you are laid off with a pre-existing condition, you have to keep your health insurance. Many jobs do not offer any health insurance at all. If you can get an individual policy, the monthly cost rivals a mortgage on a luxury home.
Comment by Cee — February 2, 2009 @ 4:58 pm |
watch the premiums rise..
Comment by UPTHECREEK — February 2, 2009 @ 9:11 pm |
#4: I’d rather sit on my fat ass and do nothing. Hispanics never pay their premiums and successfully use medical treatment for free, why should I pay?
Comment by Beep — February 2, 2009 @ 9:32 pm |