COBRA Subsidy Extension Not Part of Unemployment Bill
July 20, 1020 – The U.S. Senate today is poised to enact another extension of federal unemployment benefits, but extending the federal health insurance subsidy for the unemployed likely will not be part of the final package.
With a replacement sworn in today for recently deceased Senator Robert Byrd of West Virginia, Senate Democrats once again have the 60-votes needed to overcome objections by Senate Republicans and force a final vote on extending unemployment benefits by up to 2.5 years at an estimated cost of $34 billion to U.S. taxpayers. The measure being debated, House Resolution 4213, the American Jobs and Closing Tax Loopholes Act of 2010, initially included a provision extending the federal COBRA health insurance subsidy through December. But the Senate stripped the provision from the bill, which is expected to gain Senate approval today with the House of Representatives concurring on any changes tomorrow.
The federal COBRA health insurance subsidy expired June 1, causing about 150,000 Americans each month to lose their health insurance benefits, according to the National Employment Law Project. A proposed amendment to HR 4213 would have extended the health insurance subsidy for up to six months, but it was stripped due to funding concerns.
The federal COBRA health insurance law allows laid-off and unemployed Americans to pay their employers’ prior group health insurance premium and remain insured for up to 18 months after losing their jobs. The COBRA subsidy was approved as part of the $787 billion federal stimulus package last year and paid 65 percent of the health insurance premium previously paid by job providers so unemployed Americans wouldn’t automatically lose their families’ health insurance protection.
About a third of eligible Americans used the federal subsidy at an annual cost of about $13,000 per family, according to the U.S. Treasury Department. But the subsidy was allowed to expire after Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nevada) in May announced the Senate would recess and wouldn’t take up measures extending the program until at least June 7.
American families who recently lost their primary incomes due to unemployment have seen their average monthly health insurance benefits payments rise from about $389 per month while employed to $1,111 per month if choosing to continue them through COBRA while receiving no subsidy, according to the non-profit Families USA organization. A monthly health insurance premium of $1,111 uses up about 83 percent of the average monthly unemployment take-home benefits of about $1,332, according to Families USA.
Six-Month COBRA Extension Eyed
June 22, 2010 – Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid is closing in on the 60 votes he needs to approve a tax measure that would include a provision extending the federal COBRA health insurance subsidy another six months.
The American Jobs and Closing Tax Loopholes Act of 2010 likely will include an amendment extending the federal health insurance subsidy through November. The proposed six-month extension is nine months less than the prior 15-month extension turned down due to budgetary concerns. But Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid has not been able to come up with the 60 votes necessary to bring the measure to a floor vote in the U.S. Senate and suffered two setbacks in attempting to do so last week.
The federal COBRA health insurance subsidy expired June 1, and the measure would extend the qualifying period through November and prevent about 150,000 Americans each month from losing their health insurance benefits, according to the National Employment Law Project.
The proposed amendment likely is a response to President Barack Obama earlier this week urging federal lawmakers to extend funding for the expired federal program helping unemployed Americans maintain their group health insurance coverage. But extending the program means funding it. Federal lawmakers resumed session June 7, but no funding extension had been proposed.
The federal COBRA health insurance subsidy helping unemployed Americans maintain their group health insurance benefits expired after Senate Democrats adjourned session before Memorial Day without authorizing additional program funding. The federal COBRA health insurance law allows laid-off and unemployed Americans to pay their employer’s prior group health insurance premium and remain insured for up to 18 months after losing their jobs. The COBRA subsidy was approved as part of the $787 billion federal stimulus package last year and paid the health insurance premium previously paid by job providers so unemployed Americans wouldn’t automatically lose their families’ health insurance protection.
About a third of eligible Americans used the federal subsidy at an annual cost of about $13,000 per family, according to the U.S. Treasury Department. But the subsidy was allowed to expire after Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nevada) last month announced the Senate would recess and wouldn’t take up measures extending the program until at least June 7.
American families who recently lost their primary incomes due to unemployment have seen their average monthly health insurance benefits payments rise from about $389 per month while employed to $1,111 per month if choosing to continue them through COBRA, according to the non-profit Families USA organization. A monthly health insurance premium of $1,111 uses up about 83 percent of the average monthly unemployment take-home benefits of about $1,332, according to Families USA.
Maintaining group health insurance benefits is expensive, costing an average $400 per month for an individual and $1,100 per family to maintain prior group health insurance benefits provided while previously employed, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation. Americans who began receiving the subsidy between September 2008 and March 2009 will be the first to lose their benefits.
Federal Lawmakers Want to Extend COBRA Health Insurance Subsidy
June 10, 2010 – If several U.S. Senators have their way, the recently expired federal subsidy enabling unemployed Americans to continue their group health insurance would be extended through November.
Sixteen U.S. Senators yesterday introduced an amendment to a tax measure extending the period for which people losing their jobs can apply for the federal COBRA health insurance subsidy, which expired June 1. The measure would extend the qualifying period through November and prevent about 150,000 Americans each month from losing their health insurance benefits, according to the National Employment Law Project.
The proposed amendment likely is a response to President Barack Obama earlier this week urging federal lawmakers to extend funding for the expired federal program helping unemployed Americans maintain their group health insurance coverage. But extending the program means funding it. Federal lawmakers resumed session June 7, but no funding extension had been proposed.
The federal COBRA health insurance subsidy helping unemployed Americans maintain their group health insurance benefits expired after Senate Democrats adjourned session before Memorial Day without authorizing additional program funding. The federal COBRA health insurance law allows laid-off and unemployed Americans to pay their employer’s prior group health insurance premium and remain insured for up to 18 months after losing their jobs. The COBRA subsidy was approved as part of the $787 billion federal stimulus package last year and paid the health insurance premium previously paid by job providers so unemployed Americans wouldn’t automatically lose their families’ health insurance protection.
About a third of eligible Americans used the federal subsidy at an annual cost of about $13,000 per family, according to the U.S. Treasury Department. But the subsidy was allowed to expire after Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nevada) last month announced the Senate would recess and wouldn’t take up measures extending the program until at least June 7.
American families who recently lost their primary incomes due to unemployment have seen their average monthly health insurance benefits payments rise from about $389 per month while employed to $1,111 per month if choosing to continue them through COBRA, according to the non-profit Families USA organization. A monthly health insurance premium of $1,111 uses up about 83 percent of the average monthly unemployment take-home benefits of about $1,332, according to Families USA.
Maintaining group health insurance benefits is expensive, costing an average $400 per month for an individual and $1,100 per family to maintain prior group health insurance benefits provided while previously employed, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation. Americans who began receiving the subsidy between September 2008 and March 2009 will be the first to lose their benefits.
Obama Calls for COBRA Health Insurance Subsidy Extension
June 8, 2010 – President Barack Obama today urged federal lawmakers to extend funding for an expired federal program helping unemployed Americans maintain their group health insurance coverage.
The federal COBRA health insurance subsidy expired June 1, and people who had been using it to pay for their prior employer-provided group health insurance coverage began losing their benefit this week. Federal lawmakers resumed session today, but no program funding extension has been proposed. The eligibility period to apply for the benefit also expired June 1, although Congress might act to extend the eligibility period as well as program funding.
The federal COBRA health insurance subsidy helping unemployed Americans maintain their group health insurance benefits expired after Senate Democrats adjourned session before Memorial Day without authorizing additional program funding. The federal COBRA health insurance law allows laid-off and unemployed Americans to pay their employer’s prior group health insurance premium and remain insured for up to 18 months after losing their jobs. The COBRA subsidy was approved as part of the $787 billion federal stimulus package last year and paid the health insurance premium previously paid by job providers so unemployed Americans wouldn’t automatically lose their families’ health insurance protection.
About a third of eligible Americans used the federal subsidy at an annual cost of about $13,000 per family, according to the U.S. Treasury Department. But the subsidy was allowed to expire after Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nevada) last month announced the Senate would recess and wouldn’t take up measures extending the program until at least June 7.
American families who recently lost their primary incomes due to unemployment have seen their average monthly health insurance benefits payments rise from about $389 per month while employed to $1,111 per month if choosing to continue them through COBRA, according to the non-profit Families USA organization. A monthly health insurance premium of $1,111 uses up about 83 percent of the average monthly unemployment take-home benefits of about $1,332, according to Families USA.
Maintaining group health insurance benefits is expensive, costing an average $400 per month for an individual and $1,100 per family to maintain prior group health insurance benefits provided while previously employed, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation. Americans who began receiving the subsidy between September 2008 and March 2009 will be the first to lose their benefits.
Unemployed Begin Losing COBRA Subsidy
June 4, 2010 – A federal subsidy helping unemployed Americans maintain their group health insurance benefits began running out this week after Senate Democrats adjourned session last week without authorizing additional program funding.
The federal COBRA health insurance law allows laid-off and unemployed Americans to pay their employer’s prior group health insurance premium and remain insured for up to 18 months after losing their jobs. The COBRA subsidy was approved as part of the $787 billion federal stimulus package last year and paid the health insurance premium previously paid by job providers so unemployed Americans wouldn’t automatically lose their families’ health insurance protection.
About a third of eligible Americans used the federal subsidy at an annual cost of about $13,000 per family, according to the U.S. Treasury Department. But the subsidy was allowed to expire after Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nevada) announced last week the Senate would recess and wouldn’t take up measures extending the program until at least June 7.
American families who recently lost their primary incomes due to unemployment have seen their average monthly health insurance benefits payments rise from about $389 per month while employed to $1,111 per month if choosing to continue them through COBRA, according to the non-profit Families USA organization. A monthly health insurance premium of $1,111 uses up about 83 percent of the average monthly unemployment take-home benefits of about $1,332, according to Families USA.
The COBRA subsidy began expiring June and will leave families uninsured unless federal lawmakers decide to extend the program once again. Maintaining group health insurance benefits is expensive, costing an average $400 per month for an individual and $1,100 per family to maintain prior group health insurance benefits provided while previously employed, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation. Americans who began receiving the subsidy between September 2008 and March 2009 will be the first to lose their benefits.
An earlier extension was approved after Senate Democrats cut a deal allowing a floor vote on a funding measure for the temporary extension. U.S. Senator Jim Bunning (R-Kentucky) previously blocked a $10 billion spending bill providing funding to extend the COBRA health insurance subsidy program as well as the National Flood Insurance Program, federal unemployment benefits and federal highway projects, among others. Bunning objected to Democrats’ plans to add to the already record-level federal deficit, instead favoring using unallocated federal stimulus funding to fund the programs.
But Senate Democrats eventually agreed to allow a floor vote on an amendment sponsored by Bunning requiring the $10 billion come from the unallocated portion of the $787 billion federal stimulus bill approved last year. The amendment was defeated, after which the Senate voted to approve the funding measure and sent it to President Barack Obama, who signed it into law.
Congress Allows COBRA Subsidy, Flood Insurance Program to Expire
May 28, 2010 – Barring a last minute change in plans, the U.S. Senate is scheduled to adjourn today without extending funding for the federal health insurance subsidy for unemployed Americans or the federal flood insurance program, which expires Monday night as hurricane season begins.
The federal COBRA health insurance subsidy program helps workers who lost their jobs due to the recent economic downturn maintain their prior group health insurance coverage by paying about 65 percent of the premiums. The COBRA subsidy initially lasted 9 months, but with the United States facing its worst job market in decades, federal lawmakers have voted several times to extend the health insurance subsidy, which expires May 31.
Maintaining group health insurance benefits is expensive, costing an average $400 per month for an individual and $1,100 per family to maintain prior group health insurance benefits provided while previously employed, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation. Americans who began receiving the subsidy between September 2008 and March 2009 will begin losing their subsidy after Monday.
The expiration of the National Flood Insurance Program would be the fourth time this year the program has been suspended due to Congressional inaction. The program provides flood insurance protection for homes and properties located in federally designated flood zones and is administered by private insurance companies. The program’s expiration means no new flood insurance policies may be written or renewed, but policyholders may file claims and receive payments for insured damages.
Members of Congress were considering legislation temporarily extending funding for the National Flood Insurance Program as well as extending the federal COBRA health insurance subsidy and extended unemployment benefits slated to expire along with funding for the flood insurance program. Because lawmakers can’t agree on the funding mechanism, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid yesterday announced the funding measure won’t be considered until Congress reconvenes June 7. Several news outlets have reported Congressional Democrats want to extend the programs another two weeks, but Republicans want them paid for with funds remaining from the federal stimulus fund instead of increasing the budget deficit.
The National Flood Insurance Program provides up to $250,000 in flood insurance coverage for homes and other properties located in federally designated flood plains. The federal program insures about 5.6 million homes in the United States. Federal officials have extended the debt-riddled program’s deadline several times in lieu of enacting permanent changes. Lawmakers are divided on how to sufficiently fund the program and don’t agree on proposals to add coverage for wind damages to the National Flood Insurance Program.
Federal COBRA Subsidy Set to Expire May 31
May 17, 2010 – Millions of unemployed Americans utilizing a federal subsidy to maintain their prior group health insurance benefits will begin having their health insurance bill rise sharply after May 31 – unless federal officials decide to extend it once again.
The federal subsidy helping unemployed Americans maintain their group health insurance benefits will begin expiring May 31 unless federal lawmakers decide to extend the program once again. Maintaining group health insurance benefits is expensive, costing an average $400 per month for an individual and $1,100 per family to maintain prior group health insurance benefits provided while previously employed, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation. Americans who began receiving the subsidy between September 2008 and March 2009 will begin losing their subsidy starting at the end of May.
The federal COBRA health insurance subsidy program helps workers who lost their jobs due to the recent economic downturn maintain their prior group health insurance coverage by paying about 65 percent of the premiums. The COBRA subsidy initially lasted 9 months, but with the United States facing its worst job market in decades, federal lawmakers have voted several times to extend the health insurance subsidy.
An earlier extension was approved after Senate Democrats cut a deal allowing a floor vote on a funding measure for the temporary extension. U.S. Senator Jim Bunning (R-Kentucky) previously blocked a $10 billion spending bill providing funding to extend the COBRA health insurance subsidy program as well as the National Flood Insurance Program, federal unemployment benefits and federal highway projects, among others. Bunning objected to Democrats’ plans to add to the already record-level federal deficit, instead favoring using unallocated federal stimulus funding to fund the programs.
But Senate Democrats eventually agreed to allow a floor vote on an amendment sponsored by Bunning requiring the $10 billion come from the unallocated portion of the $787 billion federal stimulus bill approved last year. The amendment was defeated, after which the Senate voted to approve the funding measure and sent it to President Barack Obama, who signed it into law.
The $787 billion federal stimulus package approved last year allocated funds to help unemployed Americans continue their health insurance benefits through the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1986 – popularly known as COBRA.
American families who recently lost their primary incomes due to unemployment have seen their average monthly health insurance benefits payments rise from about $389 per month while employed to $1,111 per month if choosing to continue them through COBRA, according to the non-profit Families USA organization. A monthly health insurance premium of $1,111 uses up about 83 percent of the average monthly unemployment take-home benefits of about $1,332, according to Families USA.
Federal COBRA Health Insurance Subsidy Expires April 5
March 30, 2010 – The federal subsidy helping unemployed Americans maintain their group health insurance benefits will expire on April 5 while federal lawmakers are on recess.
The U.S. Senate recessed on March 26 without approving a measure extending the federal COBRA health insurance subsidy for the unemployed, which expires March 31. The Senate is scheduled to resume session on April 12 and is expected to approve extending the federal subsidy through the end of the year. Funding for the federal unemployment benefits extension for unemployed Americans using up their initial six months of unemployment expires April 3, affecting an estimated 1.2 million Americans.
The federal COBRA health insurance subsidy program helps workers who lost their jobs due to the recent economic downturn maintain their prior group health insurance coverage by paying about 65 percent of the premiums. The COBRA subsidy initially lasted 9 months, but with the United States facing its worst job market in decades, an estimated 7 million unemployed Americans would have begun losing their subsidy on Feb. 28.
The latest extension was approved after Senate Democrats cut a deal allowing a floor vote on a funding measure for the temporary extension through April 5. U.S. Senator Jim Bunning (R-Kentucky) previously blocked a $10 billion spending bill providing funding to extend the COBRA health insurance subsidy program as well as the National Flood Insurance Program, federal unemployment benefits and federal highway projects, among others. Bunning objected to Democrats’ plans to add to the already record-level federal deficit, instead favoring using unallocated federal stimulus funding to fund the programs.
But Senate Democrats eventually agreed to allow a floor vote on an amendment sponsored by Bunning requiring the $10 billion come from the unallocated portion of the $787 billion federal stimulus bill approved last year. The amendment was defeated, after which the Senate voted to approve the funding measure and sent it to President Barack Obama, who signed it into law.
The $787 billion federal stimulus package approved last year allocated funds to help unemployed Americans continue their health insurance benefits through the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1986 – popularly known as COBRA.
American families who recently lost their primary incomes due to unemployment have seen their average monthly health insurance benefits payments rise from about $389 per month while employed to $1,111 per month if choosing to continue them through COBRA, according to the non-profit Families USA organization. A monthly health insurance premium of $1,111 uses up about 83 percent of the average monthly unemployment take-home benefits of about $1,332, according to Families USA.
COBRA Health Insurance Subsidy Extended through March
March 3, 2010 – A halt in a federal health insurance subsidy for unemployed Americans was averted for a month after Senate Democrats yesterday cut a deal allowing passage of a federal spending measure.
President Barack Obama last night signed into law legislation temporarily extending the federal COBRA health insurance subsidy through March 31. Members of Congress are working on a longer extension through the end of the year, but the temporary extension was necessary after program expired Feb. 28.
The federal COBRA subsidy program helps workers who lost their jobs due to the recent economic downturn maintain their prior group health insurance coverage by paying about 65 percent of the premiums. The federal COBRA subsidy initially lasted 9 months, but with the United States facing its worst job market in decades, an estimated 7 million unemployed Americans would have begun losing their subsidy on Feb. 28. The latest extension was approved after Senate Democrats cut a deal allowing a floor vote on a funding measure for the temporary extension.
U.S. Senator Jim Bunning (R-Kentucky) last week used Senate Republicans’ renewed filibuster power to block a $10 billion spending bill providing funding to extend the COBRA health insurance subsidy program as well as the National Flood Insurance Program, federal unemployment benefits and federal highway projects, among others. Bunning objected to Democrats’ plans to add to the already record-level federal deficit, instead favoring using unallocated federal stimulus funding to fund the programs.
But Senate Democrats yesterday agreed to allow a floor vote on an amendment sponsored by Bunning requiring the $10 billion come from the unallocated portion of the $787 billion federal stimulus bill approved last year. The amendment was defeated, after which the Senate voted to approve the funding measure and sent it to President Barack Obama, who signed it into law last night.
The $787 billion federal stimulus package approved last year allocated funds to help unemployed Americans continue their health insurance benefits through the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1986 – popularly known as COBRA.
American families who recently lost their primary incomes due to unemployment have seen their average monthly health insurance benefits payments rise from about $389 per month while employed to $1,111 per month if choosing to continue them through COBRA, according to the non-profit Families USA organization. A monthly health insurance premium of $1,111 uses up about 83 percent of the average monthly unemployment take-home benefits of about $1,332, according to Families USA.