COBRA Health Insurance, The Unkindest Cut Of All
Of course it is a provision that helps poor people who aren’t old enough to qualify for Medicare, get by in their time of need; but it is also something that reminds people so much of better times; it makes them feel stigmatized to have to use it the way it would if they needed food stamps.
COBRA’s primarily contains provisions that former employees, retirees along with their spouses and children are allowed to have temporary continuation of their health insurance at group rates. However, it cannot be denied that a group health insurance in COBRA is a lot more expensive than the one which covers those who are still employed. This is because employers are required to pay a part of the premiums of their employees.
Included in the COBRA medical assistance are; hospital care (inpatient or outpatient), physician care, surgical and other major medical benefits, also prescription drugs and other medical care such as those of dental and optical clinics. Isn’t it a great relief for a lot of people to receive these benefits? Yet, it seemed to have deprived these people of their chance to live comfortably.
We’ve known a harmoniously living couple; the husband is closing in on 70, and was laid off from a job as a shelf stocker quite a while ago; he receives his Social Security check, a couple thousand dollars, and is more or less okay. His wife is about seven years younger than him; she was working as a supervisor at a bookstore until recently, and had coverage; but the bookstore chain had to downsize, and she was laid off permanently. Losing her paychecks, she wouldn’t be able to buy her costly medicines if it wasn’t for her application in the COBRA. It cost her just a couple of hundred dollars every month while she was still working. However, it is likely to change because of President Obama’s business stimulus package at which point allows unemployed and laid-off citizens to claim their COBRA medical insurance for a span of only nine months. In March, she will need to fork over half of her paycheck to buy coverage, and she only makes about $1000 with her unemployment benefits. Now, the couple is puzzled as to where they’d be going to live after consuming all that remains from their benefits.
Why does the COBRA plan insist on sending people to work in this economic climate; how many job opportunities are out there for old people that provide them health benefits over their wages? Does the government just want people to work themselves to death when they are sick? What is more, anyone who gets laid off today can’t even claim the nine months that my friends the old couple got, that is how the new COBRA is framed. This is how the new framed COBRA works, most laid-off people get unemployment benefits of $1000 or less however the average COBRA payment is around $800 or less.
Now, the government has observed the problems presented by COBRA medical insurance, and are now fixing it. Yet it consumes time, try to put yourself in the elderly couple’s shoes, what do you think would you do if in any case your benefits are running out fast? People need short term medical insurance coverage.
First and foremost, COBRA medical insurance relentlessly requires its members for contributions. As the subsidized rate approaches its end, no special notice will be sent to its benefactors except for a bulkier bill, thus, forcing you to find ways and means to pay it at once. Once you cease your payments, then that would be the time they begin counting you as without medical insurance. You get a count of 63 days; if you scrape your money together in under the time, you’re safe. If it takes longer than that, then when you come to them for coverage one day, they count you as an all new customer, and you’ll have to pay unimaginable premiums like any new insurance customer with all kinds of existing ailments does. Why not let group health insurance coverage to just continue?
When the law passes and makes COBRA medical insurance kinder to people, they’ll pay you back for whatever you spent. If you keep asking your COBRA administrator for updates for when your refund will come, you will be notified. Let’s just hope that this awareness would reign over Washington. We would all want the best health benefits we could have.
Sej Tzard is a dedicated online provider of various products and services. She has been involved with many promotion and advertising sites to cater the needs of other businessman of online presence. She is also when it comes to group health insurance.
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