Many who lost jobs used COBRA subsidy, kept insurance, By Sandra Block, May 10, 2010, USA Today: “A new Treasury study says the federal COBRA subsidy, included in last year’s economic stimulus package, may have slowed the growth in the number of uninsured Americans during the recession. The study estimates that up to a third of eligible unemployed workers have taken advantage of the subsidy, which covers up to 65% of the cost of continuing a former employer’s health care coverage for up to 15 months. Under COBRA, workers who leave their jobs can continue their former employer’s health insurance coverage for up to 18 months. Ordinarily, though, they must pay the entire premium, plus administrative costs, making COBRA unaffordable for most people who are out of work…”
Tag: Health care subsidies
Health Care Reform and the Uninsured
Benefit for uninsured may still pose hurdle, By Roni Caryn Rabin, April 19, 2010, New York Times: “William Mann of Pittsburgh earns just enough to get by. He is 46, doesn’t own a car, hasn’t taken a vacation in three years and hasn’t had health insurance for most of his adult life. He is just the kind of person who should benefit from the health care overhaul, and he is, in fact, eligible for heavily subsidized insurance that will cost him an estimated $1,845 a year, while the government contributes about $2,756. But Mr. Mann says he still can’t afford it. He lives too close to the edge, and won’t be buying insurance, even though he will face a fine under a provision called the individual mandate, which penalizes most Americans who don’t buy coverage starting in 2014. The requirement is one of the most controversial aspects of the overhaul…”
Health Care Reform in the US
- House passes health-care reform bill without Republican votes, By Shailagh Murray and Lori Montgomery, March 22, 2010, Washington Post: “House Democrats scored a historic victory in the century-long battle to reform the nation’s health-care system late Sunday night, winning final approval of legislation that expands coverage to 32 million people and attempts to contain spiraling costs…”
- Republicans vow repeal effort against health bill, By David Herszenhorn, Robert Pear and Carl Hulse, March 22, 2010, New York Times: “As jubilant Democrats prepared for President Obama to sign their landmark health care legislation with a big ceremony at the White House, Republicans on Monday opened a campaign to repeal the legislation and to use it as a weapon in this year’s hotly contested midterm elections…”
- Legal and political fights loom, By Jeff Zeleny and Sheryl Gay Stolberg, March 22, 2010, New York Times: “The battle over health care is poised to move swiftly from Congress back to the country as Democrats, Republicans and a battery of interest groups race to define the legislation and dig in for long-term political and legal fights…”
- Texas: Most uninsured, most votes against bill, By Dave Michaels, March 22, 2010, Dallas Morning News: “The state with the most to gain from a health insurance overhaul was also the state with the most lawmakers who voted against the bill on Sunday. Twenty-one of 32 lawmakers from Texas, including 20 Republicans, voted against the measure. The opponents said the legislation was overwhelmingly unpopular in their districts, although it would offer insurance to more than half of Texas’ 6 million uninsured…”
- California stands to gain most from health bill, By Victoria Colliver, March 22, 2010, San Francisco Chronicle: “The stakes are high for Californians when it comes to the health care overhaul, mainly because the coverage problems in this vast state are so large. With a new UCLA study estimating that more than 8 million Californians, or nearly 25 percent of the population, lack health coverage, many health experts say California will be impacted more than other states by the reform legislation…”