Cobra Subsidy
Early in President Obama’s term in office, he signed what
was called the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act in
Denver, CO. This act, among many things, allowed displaced
employees who were laid off or fired for anything other than
gross misconduct to receive help paying their COBRA premiums.
This COBRA Subsidy will allow former employees and their
families to keep their prior health insurance plan for 18 or 36
months, depending on which state they live in. To see if you
qualify, please go through the check list below. If you can
answer “Yes” to all the statements below, you qualify for the
COBRA Subsidy.
- You were terminated involuntarily – This includes
being laid off, being fired or any other termination of
employment in which you did not quit. Also, if you were
fired for gross misconduct or for committing a crime of
some kind, you are not eligible.
- The termination of your employment occurred between
September 1, 2008 and December 31, 2009
- You were/are eligible for COBRA coverage – When you
were laid off or fired, you musthave
been eligible for COBRA coverage. This means either you
received a letter stating you could enact your COBRA
rights or you were terminated from a company that must
offer your COBRA.
- Household Adjusted Gross Income may not exceed
$125,000 for a single filer, or $250,000 for
joint-filers.
- You must elect COBRA – You cannot be eligible for
the COBRA Subsidy if you do not actually enact your
COBRA rights.
If you answered “Yes” to all of the above, you qualify for the
COBRA Subsidy. This allows you to have 65% of your premiums
paid for by your former employer and the Federal Government.
This means that if you are currently paying or would be paying
$500 for a COBRA Plan, you would only pay 35 cents to every
dollar. Your premium, for 9 months while under the Subsidy,
would be only $175. That’s a savings of $325 a month, and a
total of $2,925 over 9 months. That’s a huge savings, and you
get to still maintain the comprehensive coverage you had before
from your former employer.
Limitations: The COBRA Subsidy does not extend
your COBRA for more than the normal COBRA period. You will lose
your right to COBRA and the Subsidy if you become eligible for
another employer-sponsored group plan, such as at a new job, or
become entitled to Medicare.
For More Information, Please fill out
the form below and an underwriter will follow up with you as
soon as possible.
If you have more questions that cannot be answered here, please
call us at (866) 439-0964 or Contact
Us
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