Increasing numbers of jobless workers struggling to find employment will lose a key benefit this month: Subsidies to continue their health coverage. The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA) helped laid-off workers retain their job-based health coverage through COBRA by picking up 65 percent of premium costs for nine months. Typically, employees who lose their jobs would be required to pay the entire premium.
But ARRA dollars were meant to be temporary, and for those who elected to take this benefit when it first became available, that time has just expired. Individuals’ monthly premiums will increase from an average of about $140 to $409, as reflected in the 2008 California Employer Health Benefits Survey. A family will see its monthly premium jump from about $390 to $1,119. Furthermore, for those who lose their jobs after December 31, this subsidy will not be available at all.
