Health-care subsidy for unemployed has expired
[The Columbus Dispatch — Mark Williams / Sunday September 4, 2011 10:08 AM]
Federal program let jobless extend their employer’s coverage
A federal subsidy that helped laid-off workers afford health insurance for themselves and their family came to a quiet end last week, trumped by continued worries about the economy and the stock market.
The end of the subsidy comes at a difficult time in Ohio, where unemployment remains high and the growth of jobs — the source of health insurance for most — has been tepid at best.
A recent survey by the Health Foundation of Greater Cincinnati found that one in six Ohioans between ages 18 and 64 don’t have insurance, up from one in nine five years ago. The end of the subsidy figures to make that situation worse.
“There’s a lot of people who don’t have it because they can’t afford it,” said Larry France of France & Associates in Columbus.
Though some people, especially those in their 20s, will take the risk that they won’t get sick, many people without insurance know they need it.
“They’re desperate for coverage, any kind of coverage,” said Margot O’Dell of O’Dell Insurance Agency in Columbus.
The subsidy was initially a part of the federal government’s stimulus package in 2009 that provided a 65 percent subsidy to help the unemployed defray the cost of continuing with their former employer’s health plan. The subsidy had been extended until Sept. 1.
The subsidy helped the unemployed lower the cost of maintaining their employer-backed coverage through COBRA, the federal program that allows many workers who lose their jobs to keep employer-provided insurance for as long as 18 months.
Those who don’t have insurance will have more affordable options beginning in 2014, when more than 30 million Americans will begin to gain coverage as a result of expansion of Medicaid, the state-federal insurance program for the poor and disabled, and subsidized coverage through new health-insurance exchanges or online marketplaces.
Until then, those looking for coverage will have to shop in the marketplace. That can mean talking to insurance agents or shopping online.
“If people have not had to deal with that, they don’t know what is out there,” said Ellen Laden, a spokeswoman for UnitedHealthcare’s Golden Rule Insurance.
Education
Many people are stunned when they find out how expensive it is to continue with employer-provided coverage. They forget they’ve been paying only part of the cost during their employment.
“Why is the COBRA policy costing me so much money?” France said people will ask. “Well, that’s what your employer has been paying for you.”
A Kaiser Family Foundation study found that COBRA coverage can run about $1,100 a month for a family or $400 a month for individual coverage.
France and O’Dell said they find that consumers looking to them for help for coverage often don’t know much about deductibles, co-payments, coverage for prescription drugs and services, and which doctors they can use.
Families or individuals need to take into account an assortment of issues when buying insurance — pre-existing conditions, whether family members need several prescription drugs, whether they need a short-term or longer policy and how much they are willing to pay out of pocket before coverage kicks in. Consumers also should ask about policies that include their family doctor or the network of coverage.
“Before you go shopping, determine what kind of plan you need,” Laden said.
Costs
Generally, the higher the deductible of an insurance plan, the lower the cost.
Otherwise, the costs of insurance policies vary considerably, depending on an assortment of factors. Some insurers will, for example, charge more if an applicant takes certain kinds of prescription drugs, but others won’t.
O’Dell said insurers are starting to ask applicants whether they exercise and how much they weigh. Those who keep themselves fit can win a premium 5 to 10 percent lower than what it may otherwise cost, she said.
Consumers who smoke and are overweight could end up paying more.
Laden said coverage doesn’t have to be expensive.
Laden said a family of four in central Ohio — parents in their middle 30s with two children under 10 — that needs six months of coverage can buy insurance for as little as $55 to $181 a month from Golden Rule, depending on the deductible and the plan. A single adult in his late 20s could pay $20 to $60 per month.
“The most important thing is that no one can afford to be without health-care coverage,” she said.