Unemployed, uninsured (no more COBRA subsidy), now what?
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Remember that health-insurance subsidy granted to millions of the newly unemployed back at the beginning of the year? It’s ending.
As Kathy Kristof reported in Monday’s Los Angeles Times: ‘The so-called COBRA subsidy was designed to last no more than nine months for each person who was unemployed. Hundreds of thousands who got this subsidy when it was first made available in March are slated to roll off the program today. The insurance subsidy will also no longer be available for Americans who lose their jobs starting today.’
Of course, going without insurance is risky in the short term and, if you have a pre-existing condition, in the long run as well.
Here’s a package of stories on how to cut healthcare costs -- and find insurance. First, the introduction: Cut costs, not your care. Then, the nitty-gritty tips: How to trim your health bills.
For more money-saving or find-insurance advice, we offer:
Tips for asthma sufferers to help save on prescriptions
How to save money on diabetes supplies and care
Cancer screenings don’t have to be costly
And ... Health insurance options when you are unemployed
Then there’s the story of one man who weighed his options, considered the odds -- and decided to forgo health insurance: Choosing to not have medical insurance
-- Tami Dennis
Illustration credit: Getty Images