Staff report
Imagine spending 84 percent of your income on health insurance.
That scenario could become reality for many unemployed Texas workers beginning Tuesday many jobless workers in Texas and their dependents who receive federal subsidies to help pay for health care coverage will lose those benefits according to a report released by Families USA.
According to the Center for Public Policy Priorities, families may pay premiums as high as $1,081 per month.
The subsidies--which were started last March by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA), but were made available for only nine months.
The assistance has enabled millions of laid-off workers and their dependents across the nation to afford so-called "COBRA" (Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act) premiums needed to continue health coverage from their previous employer.
Without such subidies, these premiums would consume an average of 83.4 percent of the average unemployment check, putting continued health coverage out of reach for most families.
With the program's expiration on November 30, subsidies ended immediately for the first recipients, who began receiving subsidies in March, and subsidies will end nine months after the start-up date for those who started receiving subsidies after March.
Beginning in this month, no new unemployed workers will be provided with subsidies unless the program is renewed.
A special report from Families USA, the national organization for health care consumers, details how the COBRA subsidy helps make health insurance premiums affordable in Texas. The report, "Expiration of COBRA Subsidy," was released Tuesday, Dec. 1 and includes
• Background on the COBRA subsidy program in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.
• The average monthly COBRA premium for family coverage in Texas.
• The cost of COBRA coverage for families with the subsidy provided under the terms of ARRA.
• The amount of subsidy lost by Texas families if the program is not extended.
The resulting changes may make COBRA premiums — an insurance option designed to bridge the gap between employee health coverage and private health coverage — too expensive for many.
