COBRA subsidies are about to go away. Happy Holidays!
Unless Congress moves swiftly to extend the benefit, millions of other jobless Americans will experience the same sticker shock when they exhaust their subsidies and must pay full health insurance premiums, instead of just 35 percent.
For many, the cost of coverage will triple, forcing cash-strapped unemployed workers to scramble for cheaper private coverage, go uninsured or suck it up like Hall and pay the higher rates.
With the subsidy, job-based coverage averages $398 per month for families and $144 for individuals, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation. Without it, premiums average $1,137 for a family and $410 for an individual.
Whenever I mention stories like this, I hear from wingnuts: These people should stop whining! They should just prioritize their lives and pay the premiums!
Uh-huh. So prioritize what? Sell your house? Your car? Feed off your kids' college fund until the jobs come back? Just to pay insurance premiums? Yeah, that's a great system.