from Connecticut Citizen Action Group

A report issued on the same day the government released its latest unemployment data shows most laid-off people are likely to lose their health coverage. The average national premium costs for family COBRA coverage consume almost 84 percent of average unemployment benefits. COBRA — Consolidated Omnibus Reconciliation Act — gives workers and their families the right to continue health benefits following job loss by paying the full cost of insurance.

“COBRA health coverage is a great concept but lousy in reality,” said Phil Sherwood, deputy director of the Connecticut Citizen Action Group. “For the vast majority of workers laid off in Connecticut, they and their families are likely to join the ranks of the uninsured. There needs to be a safety net.”

Middletown Press, 1/10/2009