President Barack Obama endorsed an extension of the current COBRA subsidy
program during a speech dealing with job creation and economic growth Tuesday,
December 8.
During an address delivered at Washington’s Brookings Institution, the
president said the COBRA subsidy for laid-off workers was one of several relief
efforts that should be extended.
Such an extension “will help folks weathering these storms while boosting
consumer spending and promoting jobs,” the president said.
Under the subsidy, embedded in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of
2009, the federal government pays 65 percent of COBRA premiums for
COBRA-eligible employees who are involuntarily terminated between September 1,
2008, and December 31, 2009.
The subsidy is available for nine months or until an enrollee is eligible for
new group health insurance coverage. Legislation to extend the subsidy has been
introduced in both houses of Congress, with the House bill maintaining the
subsidy at 65 percent while the Senate measure calls for increasing it to 75
percent.
The president did not endorse a specific bill in his speech.
Filed by Mark A. Hofmann
of Business
Insurance, a sister publication of Workforce
Management. To comment, e-mail editors@workforce.com.
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