With the current state of the economy, many new stimulus packages and offers are being rolled out. One such stimulus is a reduction on your Cobra coverage. The Cobra reduction is available to qualifying individuals and allows families and individuals in need to retain their current medical coverage for only 35% of the standard monthly premium.

To be eligible for Cobra, one must lose their employment in a qualifying fashion. Being laid off, being fired (other than gross misconduct), and reduction of hours (which makes you ineligible for insurance) are all qualifying circumstances. An employer with more than 20 employees is required to offer Cobra benefits by law. To find out if your employer offers Cobra coverage, contact your Human Resources department.

A company has 45 days after termination to send you the Cobra forms. The individual applying for Cobra coverage has 60 days to accept and return the enrollment form. Usually, Cobra coverage lasts for 18 months. Many laid off workers elect Cobra coverage for themselves and their families because it provides a seamless merge which results in you keeping your insurance throughout. 

With the current state of the economy, a recent stimulus is being offered to Cobra applicants. If your loss of employment was involuntary, you do not qualify for any other group medical plan, and you are not eligible for Medicare, you can qualify for the Cobra Premium Reduction offer. WageWorks Inc. (The Cobra Office) should mail you a form that needs to be filled out and faxed back that contains the premium reduction application. As long as you meet the general guidelines, you should be eligible for a 65% reduction of your monthly Cobra payment. You would still receive the exact same medical plan you had when employed and only be required to pay 35% of the group rate. The Cobra Premium Reduction Plan will only last for 9 months after acceptance. It is unknown if extensions will be available in the future.

I suppose the government is aware that the economy will suffer a lot more if all the laid off workers and unemployed persons were to lose their medical insurance. If this happened, when illness strikes, it will leave the hospitals and doctors struggling to collect payment which will lead to more bad than good. Offering this Cobra Premium Reduction seems like a good move to keep the losses at a minimum. Although this Cobra Stimulus may take back some lost grounds, it wouldn't be needed if the government made better decisions in the near past which put us in such a state of despair. 

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