Last week Sens. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) and Robert Casey (D-Pa.) introduced the COBRA Subsidy Extension and Enhancement Act of 2009 (S. 2730), a bill that would enhance the COBRA continuation health coverage subsidy program created by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (“ARRA” or “Economic Stimulus”). Under the current program, the government provides certain qualifying unemployed workers with a 65 percent subsidy of their health insurance premiums for up to nine months. Individuals who first became eligible to take advantage of this temporary COBRA assistance in March 2009 will lose their coverage beginning in December 2009. The COBRA Subsidy Extension and Enhancement Act would extend this deadline, as well as increase the amount of the subsidy and the number of individuals who would be able to take advantage of this program.

In essence, the bill would do the following:

• Extend the COBRA subsidy for an additional six months for a total of 15 months of coverage;
• Increase the 65 percent subsidy amount to 75 percent;
• Extend the subsidy to workers whose hours are reduced to the point where they would ordinarily lose entitlement to the COBRA coverage; and
• Extend by six months – to June 30, 2010 – the time period in which workers could become eligible for the subsidy.

In a press release, Sen. Brown stated that: “[u]nemployed workers should be able to focus on finding work, instead of worrying about how to afford medical care for their families,” adding, “This bill will make temporary health coverage more affordable and accessible for American families. No family should be one medical visit away from financial disaster.”

This bill has been referred to the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions.

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