To those who hadn’t been closely following the twists and turns in the legislative process, this must have made it seem like help with insurance coverage was on the way for everyone who had lost a job. Several days before the House and Senate reached agreement, the AP issued a story that actually focused on all the insurance expansion proposals on the table. But by the time a final bill emerged, ‘what might have been’ was old news.
In health care, old news does matter, because so much of the reform action takes place in the back rooms where lobbyists hold sway. In its wrap-up, The New York Times explained the surviving COBRA subsidy—the government will pay 65 percent of the cost of premiums for up to nine months after being laid off. It also reported:
Negotiators dropped a significant provision of the House bill that would have given states a new option to provide Medicaid for the unemployed, with the entire cost borne by the federal government.
The paper of record did not record that the COBRA extensions for older workers were gone.
Why didn't the media cover who on Olympia Snowe's staff was responsible for eliminating the COBRA extensions for older workers?
#1 Posted by AFuller, CJR on Tue 17 Feb 2009 at 08:57 PM
Look, it wasn't "lobbyists" who were responsible for reducing the COBRA subsidy it was the REPUBLICANS. Don't give them a pass on that. Get your facts straight. The COBRA provisions were reduced in negotiations in the reconciliation between the House and Senate versions, and Olympia Snowe insisted the subsidies be reduced. Lobbyists had nothing to do with it.
http://www.kaisernetwork.org/DAILY_REPORTS/rep_hpolicy.cfm
#2 Posted by Tom Traubert, CJR on Wed 18 Feb 2009 at 01:28 AM
This whole stimulus bill is ridicules. It does nothing to create long term jobs. These are all short term projects that they want to do. What are all of these people working on these projects going to do once everything is fixed? They will be jobless without any where to turn and the economy will go back down. If we are going to throw money around, lets throw some into creating jobs outside of the government. One job resource that could us a jolt of life is our manufacturing industry. I was reading articles over at americanboom.com about how much of this problem could have been avoided if we had not outsourced all of our manufacturing to China. We need to stop relying on the government to bail us out and start bailing each other out. If we support companies that employ Americans then maybe they will not move to China.
#3 Posted by Kenny Hatcher, CJR on Wed 18 Feb 2009 at 11:59 AM
Good story on COBRA. This is big news affecting millions yet it was buried by the MSM. Until the media starts digging deeply into COBRA, ERISA, Medicaid, etc., the prospects for meaningful health care reform are slim indeed.
#4 Posted by Marty Chase, CJR on Wed 18 Feb 2009 at 07:32 PM
The COBRA provision of the stimulus bill will not help as many people as previously hoped due to the significant built-in requirements and limitations. But there is an up side. Health insurance companies are now scrambling to come up with more palatable alternatives that are not subject to these limitations and presumably would not be hit so hard by the adverse selection that drives up COBRA rates. I covered "first thoughts" on this at http://medsave.com/healthinsurance/?p=119 last week.
#5 Posted by Kim Morris, CJR on Sat 21 Feb 2009 at 09:13 AM
Thanks for the insights and critique. One detail that puzzles me is how Sept. 1, 2008, was chosen as the starting point for eligibility for the COBRA subsidy. I've asked my congressmen that question; no one has an answer. I and 100 of my fellow employees lost our jobs at the Daytona Beach News-Journal last June. We were hoping for a COBRA subsidy (Florida's maximum unemployment benefit is a paltry $275 a week), but our hopes apparently were in vain.
#6 Posted by Tom Brown, CJR on Mon 23 Feb 2009 at 06:50 AM
As a health insurance broker, I am acutely aware of the shortfalls of any and all that I have heard so far. While it is no shame to apply for medicaid if one needs it, the RULE is that you cannot even apply it you are at least 3 months without health insurance. Then comes the waiting period. At the moment, the wait is about 21 months. Our health care system is completely broken. People go on COBRA when they are uninsurable. This is because COBRA costs more than other plans. If they do not get another job with Health Insurance that is without underwriting, they will bear the full brunt of the risk after 18 months when COBRA runs out.
For heaven's sake ... why can't the brilliant minds in Washington come up with a real solution??? I will be happy to lose my Health Insurance portfolio for the greater good if the government can come up with a comprehensive plan. All we have are expensive plans that serve no real good.
#7 Posted by Peter Eng, CJR on Tue 24 Feb 2009 at 05:45 PM