Obama To Congress: Extend COBRA Subsidies

[laughingliberal]

President Obama pressed Congress to extend COBRA subsidies on Tuesday, as the Senate considers a House measure that drops the health insurance assistance. Shortly before Obama made his comments during a town hall question and answer session, Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) told reporters that the COBRA subsidy would not be in the Senate's version, either.

COBRA is a program that allows laid-off workers to continue to purchase their employer-provided health coverage. Without the 65 percent subsidy created by the stimulus, COBRA is often unaffordable, a reality Obama pointed to in pressing for the extension.

"We think it's important to sustain it for at least another six months, because there's still a lot of folks who are out of work. This is being debated in Congress right now. And so, Dennis," Obama told the questioner, "the answer is to make sure that Congress follows through on its commitment... and maintains COBRA until people are working at a higher rate."

Obama added that COBRA subsidies are not a long-term solution, but are required because the major provisions of health care reform have not kicked in.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/06/08/obama-to-congress-extend_n_604591.html

Happy to see the President calling for this. It's the right thing to do and the deficit hawks are dead wrong to oppose this.

[prolesunited]

1. So, lose your job, lose your health care

society's way of telling you, "Why don't you just go off and die."

[Captain Hilts]

2. I'm glad he's doing this. But Cobra is still FAR too expensive for most people. We need a pubic opt

[Lance_Boyle]

3. That's the ugliest token gesture I ever heard of.

Good luck all you unemployed folks. Obama may not be doing shit for you on the whole jobs thing, but he'll let you keep making completely ridiculous payments to your health insurance industry masters for services you could never afford to use...

[laughingliberal]

7. I believe he was speaking of the current program where the government is paying 65% of the premium.

Deficit hawks are trying to pull this assistance.

[Better Believe It]

4. So what excuse are House/Senate leaders giving to justify dropping COBRA health care subsidies?

I think they are echoing Republican bull shit about the need to curb "wasteful" deficit spending .... except for the war/military budget.

[HereSince1628]

5. Lots of laid-off part-timers never had benefits, their donut hole has a sucking sound

associated with their downward spiral.

I think extending benefits is fine, but expanding benefits to keep people from dying of curable problems that cost REAL money to treat is also essential.

[jxnmsdemguy65]

6. What about Tier 5 unemployment benefits?

So folks still having trouble finding work in this recession can eat.

[tilsammans]

8. Although it's not the long-term solution we want/need, this is . . .

. . . good news for us on COBRA.

:kick:

[dflprincess]

9. Does anyone know if the COBRA subsidy is extended to someone on long term disability?

My brother is dealing with lung cancer, has used up his FMLA and PTO and will be let go from his job this week. He does have long term disability insurance (private insurance, not Social Security disability) but it doesn't pay much and no way can he afford COBRA. I've been keeping up his insurance payments (direct to his employer) while he's been on short term disability but I don't know if I'll be able to keep the COBRA payments going.

[laughingliberal]

10. So sorry to hear about your brother. Unfortunately, I don't know the answer to this.

It's possible his insurance company could tell you. I have one friend getting the subsidy and his insurance company was able to tell him about it.

[dflprincess]

11. Thank for your good thoughts

and I'll give the insurance company a try - or maybe we'll get lucky and his employer will have given him the answer but having dealt with the HR person there, I doubt she'd know.