Jay Trucks and Associates Legal Blog

For good or ill, employer-provided health insurance is the core of the United States' health care system. What terrifies many people as much or more than losing their income is losing their health insurance, especially if they or a family member have what would be considered a "pre-existing condition" when seeking new insurance. To prevent the dramatic consequences of this, provisions were put in the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act (COBRA) of 1985 to mandate that some group health plans offer coverage to members who no longer belong to the group, such as employees who lose their job, for up to 18 months.

However, for many people COBRA coverage can be prohibitively expensive. With unemployment soaring and the potential rolls of uninsured swelling, provisions were added to the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) signed into law by President Obama on February 17 to make COBRA coverage more affordable. The ARRA amendments to COBRA mandate that your employer pay the majority (65%) of your COBRA premiums. Your former employer will be compensated for its share of the COBRA payment. It is allowed two months to comply with the new guidelines, although by the third month, the employer must pay 65% of all three months' premiums.

In addition, the ARRA allows people who were dropped from their coverage between September 1, 2008 and February 17, 2009 but did not seek COBRA coverage because it was too expensive, to acquire it now at the subsidized rate.

Your employer and insurance company are required to give you notice about your rights for COBRA coverage under the ARRA.

If you have lost your job, it is important to know your right to reduced premiums under the new COBRA guidelines. And if your former employer is refusing to pay their share, talk to a lawyer who is dedicating to protecting the rights of working men and women. Schedule a COBRA insurance premiums consultation with the workingman's lawyers at Jay Trucks & Associates, PC.