Northeast Ohio Health and Medical Consumer News - The Plain Dealer - cleveland.com
WASHINGTON, D.C. -- The federal safety-net health insurance program created to provide coverage for pink-slipped workers has become too expensive for most Americans, according to a study released Friday.
COBRA, which stands for the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act, took effect in 1986 and allows workers to keep their former employer's health insurance for up to 18 months at the price their employer pays.
"COBRA health coverage is great in theory and lousy in reality," said Ron Pollack, executive director of Families USA, a nonprofit advocacy group, which released the report. "For the vast majority of workers who are laid off, they and their families are likely to join the ranks of the uninsured."
In Ohio, the average unemployment payment for a family last year was $1,327 a month. It would have cost the same family $1,030 a month, or 78 percent of their benefit, to pay for COBRA.
Nationwide, the average family would have needed to spend nearly 84 percent of their unemployment check to pay for that same coverage.
ABC NewsNortheast Ohio Health and Medical Consumer News It would have cost the same family $1030 a month, or 78 percent of their benefit, to pay for health insurance. Nationwide, the average family would have Health Insurance Options and COBRA For Unemployed Families can't afford COBRA COBRA health coverage too expensive, Families USA report finds
New York Times They are accelerating action on expanding the State Children's Health Insurance Program, which President George W. Bush opposed. The House will vote Friday Video: Obama: New Layoffs Show Need for Urgent Action Obama calls for bold new economic course Rifts show as Obama urges quick action on stimulus
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