COBRA Basics: Temporary Health Insurance Is Now More Affordable
Reader Comments
my 22yr old daughter
I need health coverage for my daughter for a year. She is taking a year off from college before she continues with her education. Please offer me some suggestions. My insurance company will insure her for $372 per month. She can not afford that amount.
my 22yr old daughter
I need health coverage for my daughter for a year. She is taking a year off from college before she continues with her education. Please offer me some suggestions. My insurance company will insure her for $372 per month. She can not afford that amount.
Single payer
Opponents of single payer always sight one man's opinion about how bad the single payer system is. Also for every one person or politician that says it's bad there are 10 that say it works.
Also there are countries like Japan that have successful single payer systems. They have the longest life span in the world.
Isn't medicare a single payer system?
I find that many opponents of health care reform are elderly on Medicare or they're going to the VA hospital or uninsured.
The VA hospitals are not as bad as they use to be. They are crowded right now because of the crisis in the US health care system.
HSA Plan and Stimulus
I have several questions.
I was laid off 3/03/09 and received by cobra option for payment on 3/10/09. It does not reflect the 65% reduction in the premium and from searching it looks like my plan is not covered under the stimulus plan. I have a UHC HSA plan-my former employer is based out of Georgia and I live in Indiana.
If I am not covered,can I..
(1) Request another plan from former employer? (This is the first year I choose HSA due to high deductable but don't think they offered anything cheaper.)
(2) File a appeal due to fact I only had HSA for 2 months and have every little money in my account?
(3)obtain my own cobra coverage from other providers?
Thanks
SINGLE PAYER SYSTEM = WORST OPTION POSSIBLE
Anyone calling for a single payer, socialized medical system really has no clue on the repricutions of such a horrofic system. See the comment below for more details, he speaks the truth.
How about tort reform, to limit the excessive law suits that really lead to huge problems, including excessive malpractice premiums that more than double the cost of health care in America.
COBRA
I am 71 years old and enrolled with Anthem Blue Cross. I also have Medicare coverage. When I retired in Feb. 2008 from the Aerospace Corporation I was enrolled in a new Dental Plan (Safe Guard I think) that did not have my Dentist (who I have been going to for 30 years) on their list of eligible Dentists. I promptly cancelled my policy with SafeGuard and enrolled in COBRA and renewed my policy with Delta Dental so I could continue going to the Dentist that knew my history and had taken good care of my dental needs in the past. In August 2009 my COBRA coverage will expire. What are my options when COBRA coverage ends in August 2009?
Cobra
Single Payer is not the answer! It sounds nice and simple, but the government can no more run our healthcare system then they can our VA hospitals or Education. Just look to England for why a single payer system doesn't work when your sick. When your healthy it's great because you don't pay anything (except your 45% tax rate), but if your sick - god help you. There was a British politician on the radio the other day that said "Don't do it" when asked about socialized medicine (which is what a single payer system is). He stated that they turn away women with breast cancer saying they can't help them, there are long wait lists for surgeries, and mandated treatment plans that you can not get around (for example if you have maculate degeneration you can not get treatment until you blind in one eye!). I will never ever support a single payer medical system!!
COBRA on Twitter
Thanks for this info. I'm also tracking developments at http://twitter.com/COBRArules
We should not be blaming the COBRA
law for the coverage under it being "high cost". Considering that Ronald Reagan was president in 1985 when Congress passed this, you're darn lucky to even HAVE a "Cobra" law at all--as he would not have signed it if it had not been buried in a must-pass "budget reconciliation" act.
What COBRA does for you is see to it you have a temporary option (other than bankruptcy) in the event you or a family member are already sick when the plug is pulled on your job.
The reason this is "high cost" is because you have not yet insisted on a national single-payer health care plan to drive down costs and GUARANTEE that you will never again be without coverage. DO NOT STOP YELLING UNTIL THIS IS DONE for you and every other citizen in America. Bushies are gone. Now is the time. Scream at the top of your lungs. Get it done.
Cobra Reform
Millions of Americans who lost their jobs prior to September 1, 2008 could not afford Cobra. Millions more elected Cobra but have now depleted their resources and can not continue on. Still millions more with pre-existing conditions who rely on cobra to bridge the 18 month gap between their former employers insurance and their state's high risk insurance pools are struggling to pay their premiums every month to prevent being locked out of insurance permanently.
Please join us in asking Congress and the Obama administration to eliminate the arbitrary September 1, 2008 cut-off date and 9 month limitation of assistance by signing our petition at http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/cobrareform and telling your friends about our efforts. For more information, please see our website at http://cobrareform.weebly.com.
