Update: COBRA’s extinction will add millions to rolls of uninsured
A pair of U.S. senators is urging colleagues to support an extension of health insurance benefits under the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act (COBRA) through the end of November.
Bob Casey
On May 28, the U.S. House of Representatives passed a comprehensive jobs bill, but stripped the legislation of extending a 65% subsidy for coverage to the unemployed that originated last year with the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.
In considering the House bill, the Senate has proposed several amendments, including one by Sens. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) and Bob Casey (D-Pa.) to amend the American Jobs and Closing Tax Loopholes Act of 2010 and reinstate the subsidy, which expired June 1 for thousands of Americans.
Both congressmen cited data from the National Employment Law Project indicating that without COBRA premium assistance as many as 150,000 Americans each month will lose out on the subsidies necessary to afford health care.
On the Senate floor June 9, Casey called the recession a “horrific disaster in American history” that Americans are still recovering from and require all the help they can get.
“Some people in Washington want to pull up the ladder and take away help for these struggling families,” he said.
Casey added that programs for the unemployed like COBRA are ones “we can’t short circuit” and that health insurance is expensive for those with jobs, so taking it away from those without employment would be a mistake.
Citing national research, Casey noted that 4 million Americans, including 400,000 in his home state of Pennsylvania, lost their employer-based health insurance last year and that three-fourths of the monthly unemployment payment would be needed for insurance without the subsidy, leaving those without jobs with little to live on.
“We shouldn’t force people to be in those situations,” Casey said.
Casey and Brown’s amendment would extend the COBRA subsidy through Nov. 30.
In a statement, Brown added that Washington, D.C., needs “to prevent unemployed workers for joining the rolls of the uninsured.
“When there are few jobs to be had, the inability to afford COBRA premiums becomes an even more acute problem,” he said. “I’ve received letters and emails from Ohioans who describe how COBRA is more expensive than rent or food. That’s why we need to extend this subsidy for workers who have recently lost their jobs.”
The pair’s amendment has 14 co-sponsors and both senators co-authored a letter to Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) and Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus (D-Mont.) urging support for an extension of COBRA premium assistance.
The Senate is scheduled to continue its debates of the “extenders bill” to the House measure today (June 10).
Sens. Brown, Casey pitch COBRA subsidy extension through November via IFAwebnews.com .
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