A new law passed last week that will provide some help for those who have been laid off!
The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 will provide a subsidy for the cost of COBRA coverage for employees who are involuntary terminated between September 1, 2008, and December 31, 2009.
In a nutshell, the employee’s former employer is now required to pay 65% of the employee & dependent’s total premium. This leaves the employee to pay 35% of their COBRA costs.
While the employee’s portion may still seem high, it’s much needed relief, especially for individuals who cannot qualify for health insurance through individual plans due to pre exisiting medical conditions.
In many cases, we suggest that our clients (assuming they’re the former employee), consider enrolling in COBRA, and move their dependents to an individual or family health insurance plan. This often creates a monthly savings to ensure that a family can continue thier vital health care coverage.
All of the details are still unfolding, so we have yet to see what the logistics will be. The Department of Labor has issued this statement which outlines their plan. You can also visit the IRS website for some guidelines relating to employer regulations.
As the details are ironed out, we are here to assist with making the best decision. You can always visit us online to locate affordable health insurance plans that could potentially work for you. And of course you can always contact one of our licensed representatives to help diagnose your situation and offer the best health plan solution!
TheHealthQuote.com is happy to see some much needed relief in a struggling economy. Hopefully, this is the first step forward towards some much needed change!
