Post by KNOWTHIS on Jan 25, 2009 7:18:51 GMT -5
www.cnn.com/2009/HEALTH/01/23/cobra.health.insurance/
Few laid-off workers keep health insurance, report says
Few laid-off workers keep health insurance, report says
Only about one in 10 workers who lose their job opt to keep their employer-sponsored health insurance through the safety-net program COBRA, most likely because the premiums are too expensive, according to an analysis released Friday by the Commonwealth Fund, a private foundation that supports independent research on health care issues.
Only about one in 10 workers who lose their job opt to keep their insurance through the COBRA program.
Experts worry that the highest unemployment rate in 16 years, combined with a health care system dependent on employer-sponsored health insurance, is a recipe for disaster, and will swell the ranks of the uninsured particularly if people aren't using COBRA. About 46 million people in the United States (18 percent of those under 65) lacked health insurance in 2007. ....
Only about one in 10 workers who lose their job opt to keep their insurance through the COBRA program.
Experts worry that the highest unemployment rate in 16 years, combined with a health care system dependent on employer-sponsored health insurance, is a recipe for disaster, and will swell the ranks of the uninsured particularly if people aren't using COBRA. About 46 million people in the United States (18 percent of those under 65) lacked health insurance in 2007. ....