What Health Insurance Options Are Available For You?

Many people today have recently lost their jobs and are struggling to make ends meet. At the same time, they are actively seeking replacement employment, but with little hope, since the job market is flooded with applicants and very few positions are currently available. These are extremely difficult times for many families and, as though all of this were not enough, they also have to worry about health insurance, or the lack thereof, for their families.

In 1985 the federal government enacted the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act, or C.O.B.R.A., which provides a medical insurance option to individuals, and the families of those individuals, who have lost their jobs. The primary impact of C.O.B.R.A. is that employers must allow employees who have been laid off to purchase medical insurance through the company for 18 months from their date of termination. The employer does not need to subsidize the medical insurance, so the former employee must pay the entire monthly premium themselves, however you do get to purchase the medical insurance at the group rate, which is considerably cheaper then purchasing insurance on your own. Recently, the federal government has provided money, via the economic stimulus package, to help subsidize the C.O.B.R.A. costs for individuals, up to 60% of the total costs. Right now this aid is supposed to expire at the end of this year; however there are plans in Washington D.C. to extend the coverage to next year.

While the federal assistance has helped to subsidize the C.O.B.R.A. costs for individuals who are out of work, there are still many people who are unable to afford C.O.B.R.A. coverage. If you cannot afford to purchase this insurance from your former employer then you will have to find less expensive health insurance on your own.

When you are struggling to pay your existing bills each month, and your only source of income is your unemployment compensation, it may be very difficult to find an affordable medical insurance plan. Many people are making very difficult choices when it comes to medical insurance, such as only purchasing insurance for certain family members who need it most. Other individuals are choosing to forgo medical insurance all together. If you are looking to find affordable medical insurance then you should try to compare the plans offered by all of the available medical insurance providers in your state, in order to find the best insurance for you and your family. The more plans you research, and compare to plans from the same insurance company, and other insurance companies, the better the odds that you will find a plan that meets your needs.

Finding affordable medical insurance is not an easy task. It will take a lot of time, and a lot of research, analyzing all of the plans that are available to you, the costs associated with each plan, and the costs associated with each plan. The government is continuing to try to help as many individuals as possible obtain medical insurance, and the health care reform bill is slowly working its way through Congress, which will hopefully provide an affordable coverage that provides real benefits for all Americans who need it.

Tags: co-pay, deductibles, health, Insurance, insurance plan, medical, physicians, quotes, specialists

Category: Insurance