Lose your job? You still may qualify for federal health insurance subsidies
SALEM, Ore. – Those who lose their jobs through the end of 2009 may still qualify for federal subsidies to help pay health insurance premiums.
Nine months of subsidies are available as part of the federal economic stimulus package. This means that an eligible worker who loses a job and group health insurance on or before Feb. 28, 2010, could get help paying insurance premiums for nine months continuing into 2010. (The February date was passed in December, and extends an earlier deadline of Dec. 31.)
The stimulus package pays 65 percent of premiums for most workers who involuntarily lose their jobs and who choose to continue their former employer's group coverage. The subsidy program requires that the former employer remain in business and continue to offer health insurance.
Federal and state laws already allow people who lose their jobs to continue the coverage for a limited time but they must pay the full costs of the insurance. Many can't afford to do so, which is where the subsidies help. For example, a family that may typically have to pay $1,200 a month to continue an employer plan would pay $420 monthly with the subsidy. A single employee who might normally pay $400 monthly to keep his or her health insurance would pay $140 a month with the subsidy.
People who lose their jobs should receive notices about the subsidy program with instructions on how to sign up from either their former employer or their former employer's insurance company.
Related resources:
- Learn more about the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA) and health insurance help.
- Oregon Insurance Division (503) 947-7984 or toll-free 1 (888) 877-4894
- KATU's "I just lost my job" checklist