missouri news

Kansas City Star: Enormous free health clinic planned at Bartle Hall, 11/27/09
It'll be the biggest doctors' office you've ever seen, organizers say: Hundreds of doctors, nurses and other volunteers will be stationed at Bartle Hall next month for a massive two-day free clinic.

Missourinet: Bill to reform insurance coverage for autism reemerges, 12/3/09
A bill that would mandate insurance companies pay for behavioral treatment for autism failed to pass the legislature last session.

national news

Kansas City Star: Family health insurance to rise sharply without COBRA subsidy, 12/1/09
A new study estimates that the end of a hefty government subsidy could force millions of laid-off workers to pay more than 80 percent of their monthly unemployment checks to keep their job-based family health insurance coverage intact.

New York Times: No big rise in U.S. premiums is seen in study, 12/1/09
The Congressional Budget Office said Monday that the Senate health bill could significantly reduce costs for many people who buy health insurance on their own, and that it would not substantially change premiums for the vast numbers of Americans who receive coverage from large employers.

Los Angeles Times: Breaking down the bills' projected costs, 11/28/09
Readers also ask about the penalties for not buying health insurance; changes that veterans would see; interstate insurance plans; and whether the 'public option' would cover mammograms.

The latest news is available at
www.CoverMissouri.org

cover missouri feature

COBRA Subsidies Ending
Assistance for unemployed began ending Nov. 30

The Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act (COBRA) allows workers and their families to keep their health coverage after losing their job. When an individual is laid off, he or she has the right to maintain their employer-sponsored insurance for about 18 months. COBRA users must pay the full premium plus a small administrative fee. In Missouri, the average monthly COBRA premium is $1,044.

Passed in February 2009, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) contains a health insurance subsidy for Americans laid off from November 2008 through December 2009. The subsidy makes COBRA coverage more affordable by covering 65 percent of the premium. In Missouri, the average monthly COBRA premium after applying the subsidy is $389.

A new report by Families USA demonstrates that without a subsidy many who have been unemployed for 9 months (and those who become unemployed after December 31) may be unable to afford COBRA coverage. For example, an unemployed Missourian would spend 93.8 percent of his or her monthly unemployment benefit on COBRA premiums, leaving little or nothing for food, housing, and other necessities.

Learn more:

Special Report: Expiration of COBRA Subsidy

Cover Missouri is a project of the Missouri Foundation for Health. Learn more here.