For many of those who have been laid off, there's help from the Obama administration's economic stimulus bill paying for COBRA health insurance coverage. COBRA is a law that gives you the right to continue employer-sponsored health insurance coverage for up to 18 months after being laid off or otherwise involuntarily terminated. It's a crucial benefit for those with pre-existing medical conditions, who otherwise could have a very difficult time getting insurance coverage.
The problem with COBRA is that you have to pay the full cost of the premiums; there's no employer subsidy and there is a 2% administrative fee. Full freight for a family policy can easily run over $1,000 a month--a steep bill for someone who's just been laid off.
The stimulus package provides a 65% subsidy for those who were laid off between Sept. 1, 2008 and Dec. 31, 2009. The subsidy lasts nine months and phases out for individuals making over $125,000 a year and married couples making over $250,000. Eligible laid off employees who didn't initially opt into COBRA should receive a notice about the subsidy from the their former employers giving them 60 days to enroll for subsidized coverage. Dec. 22, 2009: here's a little holiday cheer. The 65% federal subsidy has been extended through June 30, 2010, and workers laid off between Jan.1, 2010 and Feb. 28, 2010 are entitled to the subsidy, as well as those laid off between Sept. 1, 2008 and Dec. 31, 2009, who are covered by the original stimulus package.
Health insurance coverage is one of the most important things to maintain even while you're unemployed. Life without a job is hard, but it can become a disaster if you have major medical expenses and no insurance. Stinting on health insurance coverage can easily prove to be pennywise and pound foolish. If you're uninsured and can take advantage of subsidized COBRA coverage, buy it. No one likes paying for insurance--until they need it. Then, it seems like a wise purchase. Health problems are inevitable. The only question when you will have them. Since that's unpredictable, health insurance coverage is essential.
If you or someone you know needs more information about health insurance resources, see http://blogger.uncleleosden.com/2007/09/health-insurance-update.html and http://blogger.uncleleosden.com/2007/06/how-to-find-health-insurance.html.
If you or someone you know is facing the loss of a job, there are a number of financial considerations to keep in mind. See http://blogger.uncleleosden.com/2007/05/financial-checklist-for-job-loss.html.
Showing posts with label COBRA. Show all posts
Showing posts with label COBRA. Show all posts
Saturday, February 21, 2009
Friday, June 8, 2007
How to Find Health Insurance
If you've been paying attention to the presidential campaign (i.e., if you're masochistic and have a really big antacid budget), you know that the candidates are rolling out proposals for reforming the U.S. health insurance system. It's good that they're trying to tackle the problem. But all of their proposals are just talk for now. The new president won't be sworn in until 2009, and actual reform will occur, if at all, months or years later.
So, we'll be stuck for a while with our current patchwork, crazy quilt, easy-to-slip-through-the cracks system. A major health problem can really mess up your life. A major uninsured health problem can force you into bankruptcy as well--more than any other reason, medical expenses are the cause of personal bankruptcies. So, how do you find health insurance coverage?
1. Hold onto what you have. If you're covered under a group health insurance plan, and are going lose coverage (e.g., because of a layoff), use your COBRA rights to stay insured. Under COBRA (a federal program), you have to pay the full cost of your continued coverage, but you remain insured for up to 18 months. COBRA lets you stay covered while you look for another job. Also, if you have a spouse, find out if you can be brought under your spouse's plan or policy.
2. Get information from your state government. At the federal level, health insurance has been mostly the subject of endless windbaggery. At the state level, there's been quite of bit of action, and your state government could be a valuable resource. Many states have programs to insure those that can't find coverage anywhere else. All states at least provide information to their residents. An easy way to tap into your state's resources is to go to www.healthinsuranceinfo.net. This is a website maintained by the Georgetown University Health Policy Institute, and provides a brochure for each of the 50 states and the District of Columbia. The brochure will give you information about your options, including any state program to help people who otherwise can't find coverage. Also, this website has a list of the states that have "high risk pools" (i.e., programs to help people who may otherwise be uninsurable).
If you think you're eligible for Medicare, you may be able to find assistance with Medicare questions through the State Health Insurance Assistance Program (www.shiptalk.org). To find a counselor, you connect through this website to the office for your state.
3. Contact a health insurance assistance program. There are a variety of programs at the state and regional level that might be able to help you. You can find the ones in your state by going to the program locator provided by an organization called FamiliesUSA (www.familiesusa.org/resources/program-locator/.
4. Contact a professional association or union. If you belong to a professional association or union, you may be able to buy health insurance through the organization. This is often the case with professional associations (such as bar associations for lawyers). Unions generally try to negotiate insurance coverage through the employer. But that isn't universally the case. Some unions may offer health insurance for members meeting certain conditions (e.g., Actors Equity, the union for actors).
5. Contact the big health plans. Large, well-established health plans often sell individual policies. Blue Cross-Blue Shield and Kaiser Permanente are well-known plans where you could start. A quick read of the Yellow Pages or a search on the Internet will give you the names of other plans you could contact. Individual policies will be more expensive than group policies, and there may be exclusions or limitations that you wouldn't find in group policies. But they are better than nothing.
6. Talk to a health insurance agent. You can consult a health insurance agent. Plenty of them are listed in the Internet. But it may best to find one the old fashioned way, through a personal referral. When it comes to a service-oriented business like insurance, a personal referral is likely to be far more informative than an Internet ad.
For many more hints and ideas about personal finance, please go to the Summer Heat edition of the Festival of Under 30 Finances: http://www.financeispersonal.com/2007/06/festival-of-under-30-finances-summer.html.
For more shopping hints, please go to the 17th Carnival of Shopping at www.become.com/pocketchange/2007/06/carnival_of_shopping_17.html.
Animal News: Parrots invade New Jersey. http://www.nbc4.com/slideshow/news/13460504/detail.html.
So, we'll be stuck for a while with our current patchwork, crazy quilt, easy-to-slip-through-the cracks system. A major health problem can really mess up your life. A major uninsured health problem can force you into bankruptcy as well--more than any other reason, medical expenses are the cause of personal bankruptcies. So, how do you find health insurance coverage?
1. Hold onto what you have. If you're covered under a group health insurance plan, and are going lose coverage (e.g., because of a layoff), use your COBRA rights to stay insured. Under COBRA (a federal program), you have to pay the full cost of your continued coverage, but you remain insured for up to 18 months. COBRA lets you stay covered while you look for another job. Also, if you have a spouse, find out if you can be brought under your spouse's plan or policy.
2. Get information from your state government. At the federal level, health insurance has been mostly the subject of endless windbaggery. At the state level, there's been quite of bit of action, and your state government could be a valuable resource. Many states have programs to insure those that can't find coverage anywhere else. All states at least provide information to their residents. An easy way to tap into your state's resources is to go to www.healthinsuranceinfo.net. This is a website maintained by the Georgetown University Health Policy Institute, and provides a brochure for each of the 50 states and the District of Columbia. The brochure will give you information about your options, including any state program to help people who otherwise can't find coverage. Also, this website has a list of the states that have "high risk pools" (i.e., programs to help people who may otherwise be uninsurable).
If you think you're eligible for Medicare, you may be able to find assistance with Medicare questions through the State Health Insurance Assistance Program (www.shiptalk.org). To find a counselor, you connect through this website to the office for your state.
3. Contact a health insurance assistance program. There are a variety of programs at the state and regional level that might be able to help you. You can find the ones in your state by going to the program locator provided by an organization called FamiliesUSA (www.familiesusa.org/resources/program-locator/.
4. Contact a professional association or union. If you belong to a professional association or union, you may be able to buy health insurance through the organization. This is often the case with professional associations (such as bar associations for lawyers). Unions generally try to negotiate insurance coverage through the employer. But that isn't universally the case. Some unions may offer health insurance for members meeting certain conditions (e.g., Actors Equity, the union for actors).
5. Contact the big health plans. Large, well-established health plans often sell individual policies. Blue Cross-Blue Shield and Kaiser Permanente are well-known plans where you could start. A quick read of the Yellow Pages or a search on the Internet will give you the names of other plans you could contact. Individual policies will be more expensive than group policies, and there may be exclusions or limitations that you wouldn't find in group policies. But they are better than nothing.
6. Talk to a health insurance agent. You can consult a health insurance agent. Plenty of them are listed in the Internet. But it may best to find one the old fashioned way, through a personal referral. When it comes to a service-oriented business like insurance, a personal referral is likely to be far more informative than an Internet ad.
For many more hints and ideas about personal finance, please go to the Summer Heat edition of the Festival of Under 30 Finances: http://www.financeispersonal.com/2007/06/festival-of-under-30-finances-summer.html.
For more shopping hints, please go to the 17th Carnival of Shopping at www.become.com/pocketchange/2007/06/carnival_of_shopping_17.html.
Animal News: Parrots invade New Jersey. http://www.nbc4.com/slideshow/news/13460504/detail.html.
Monday, May 7, 2007
A Financial Checklist for Job Loss
Losing a job is one of the stressful things that can happen. You know you are in financial peril, but may find it hard to think straight and remember things that might be helpful. Here's our list of suggestions for softening the blow.
(a) negotiate for as many weeks or months of termination pay as you can get;
(b) ask for payment of any bonuses, awards or commissions you’ve earned or accrued, or which you can reasonably expect based on your job performance to date (if the award was in non-monetary form, like a trip to Hawaii, ask for the monetary value of the trip);
(c) request payment for accrued vacation and sick days, and any other time off you've earned or been awarded;
(d) ask for continuation of health insurance benefits (remember that you have COBRA rights to retain your employer’s health insurance for 18 months even if your employer doesn’t offer anything else; even though you’d have to pay the entire cost of COBRA coverage yourself, it's still worthwhile);
(e) ask for continuation of other insurance benefits, such as dental coverage or life insurance;
(f) obtain a written statement of the balance in your 401(k) account and any other retirement accounts you might have with the employer, such as an employee stock option plan--the assets in these accounts are yours (except possibly for matching funds from your employer if you haven’t had the job all that long) and you don’t have to negotiate for them; but you should make sure you know how much is there;
(g) claim any stock options, restricted stock and similar incentive compensation benefits that you have earned or are entitled to;
(h) ask about retaining any employer provided equipment, such as a laptop computer or a car, if this equipment is important to you;
(i) ask for the employer’s agreement not to contest your claim for unemployment compensation (if it looks like you’d qualify for unemployment comp);
(j) ask for your employer’s agreement to give you a good reference (or at least a neutral reference such as only a confirmation of dates of employment and positions held); and
(k) ask your employer for assistance from an outplacement or headhunter firm (that the employer pays for).
Your ability to obtain these benefits will depend on the circumstances of the situation, but they are something for you to think about. Certainly, if you don't ask for them, you probably won't get them. If you are represented by a union, consult with a union representative about your rights and options.
Some people try to negotiate for a temporary continuation of employment while they search for a new job, on the theory that it’s easier to find work if you are employed. Others may aim for the use of an office and telephone line at the old employer’s office while they search for a job, to maintain the appearance of being employed. You may want to consider these possibilities. But don’t lie to a prospective employer about your actual employment situation.
Carefully read anything your employer asks you to sign in connection with your termination. Almost always, an employer offering termination benefits will ask you to waive your rights to sue for discrimination, wrongful discharge and other potential legal claims or rights. If you’re seriously considering a lawsuit, don’t sign anything even if that means losing some of the termination benefits. You should be able to use COBRA rights to maintain your health insurance (unless you’ve engaged in “gross misconduct”). If you sign a document that waives your COBRA rights, you can still revoke that waiver for a limited period of time (which should be at least 60 days after your regular employer sponsored health insurance plan’s coverage ends). The assets in your 401(k) or other retirement accounts are yours in any event, so you don’t have to waive any rights to get them.
You may be able to get unemployment compensation. Do so if possible because unemployment comp will help to extend your financial resources.
Of course, start looking for another job as soon as you can. You can't build wealth for retirement unless you keep working. Losing a job can be one of the most emotionally difficult events of your life. But remember that it happens to large numbers of people every year; you are hardly alone. Don't lose faith in yourself. You'll have sunny days as well as cloudy ones. Hang in there and wait for the clouds to blow away.
Strange News: A Brazilian court has ordered a brewery to pay one of its beer tasters compensation for facilitating his alcoholism. See www.wtop.com/?nid=456&sid=1133982. Hmmmmm. They paid him to drink so now they have to pay him for drinking. What's his incentive to stop drinking?
(a) negotiate for as many weeks or months of termination pay as you can get;
(b) ask for payment of any bonuses, awards or commissions you’ve earned or accrued, or which you can reasonably expect based on your job performance to date (if the award was in non-monetary form, like a trip to Hawaii, ask for the monetary value of the trip);
(c) request payment for accrued vacation and sick days, and any other time off you've earned or been awarded;
(d) ask for continuation of health insurance benefits (remember that you have COBRA rights to retain your employer’s health insurance for 18 months even if your employer doesn’t offer anything else; even though you’d have to pay the entire cost of COBRA coverage yourself, it's still worthwhile);
(e) ask for continuation of other insurance benefits, such as dental coverage or life insurance;
(f) obtain a written statement of the balance in your 401(k) account and any other retirement accounts you might have with the employer, such as an employee stock option plan--the assets in these accounts are yours (except possibly for matching funds from your employer if you haven’t had the job all that long) and you don’t have to negotiate for them; but you should make sure you know how much is there;
(g) claim any stock options, restricted stock and similar incentive compensation benefits that you have earned or are entitled to;
(h) ask about retaining any employer provided equipment, such as a laptop computer or a car, if this equipment is important to you;
(i) ask for the employer’s agreement not to contest your claim for unemployment compensation (if it looks like you’d qualify for unemployment comp);
(j) ask for your employer’s agreement to give you a good reference (or at least a neutral reference such as only a confirmation of dates of employment and positions held); and
(k) ask your employer for assistance from an outplacement or headhunter firm (that the employer pays for).
Your ability to obtain these benefits will depend on the circumstances of the situation, but they are something for you to think about. Certainly, if you don't ask for them, you probably won't get them. If you are represented by a union, consult with a union representative about your rights and options.
Some people try to negotiate for a temporary continuation of employment while they search for a new job, on the theory that it’s easier to find work if you are employed. Others may aim for the use of an office and telephone line at the old employer’s office while they search for a job, to maintain the appearance of being employed. You may want to consider these possibilities. But don’t lie to a prospective employer about your actual employment situation.
Carefully read anything your employer asks you to sign in connection with your termination. Almost always, an employer offering termination benefits will ask you to waive your rights to sue for discrimination, wrongful discharge and other potential legal claims or rights. If you’re seriously considering a lawsuit, don’t sign anything even if that means losing some of the termination benefits. You should be able to use COBRA rights to maintain your health insurance (unless you’ve engaged in “gross misconduct”). If you sign a document that waives your COBRA rights, you can still revoke that waiver for a limited period of time (which should be at least 60 days after your regular employer sponsored health insurance plan’s coverage ends). The assets in your 401(k) or other retirement accounts are yours in any event, so you don’t have to waive any rights to get them.
You may be able to get unemployment compensation. Do so if possible because unemployment comp will help to extend your financial resources.
Of course, start looking for another job as soon as you can. You can't build wealth for retirement unless you keep working. Losing a job can be one of the most emotionally difficult events of your life. But remember that it happens to large numbers of people every year; you are hardly alone. Don't lose faith in yourself. You'll have sunny days as well as cloudy ones. Hang in there and wait for the clouds to blow away.
Strange News: A Brazilian court has ordered a brewery to pay one of its beer tasters compensation for facilitating his alcoholism. See www.wtop.com/?nid=456&sid=1133982. Hmmmmm. They paid him to drink so now they have to pay him for drinking. What's his incentive to stop drinking?
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