Dec. 7--CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- Since Judy Meadows' husband lost his job this summer, she has still been able to manage the health-care bills. When April comes, that will be much harder.
As part of the federal stimulus package, laid-off workers can get a subsidy to help keep their employer-based health coverage. But like others, the St. Albans couple's discount expires after nine months. Their monthly payment will jump from about $288 to $888.
"It's going to be really hard when we have to scrape up that kind of money," said Meadows, 63, who retired last year as a secretary at the West Virginia Education Association.
Many jobless Americans already face that situation.
Last week, the discounts expired for everyone who has gotten them since March, when the subsidies started. Those who lose their jobs after this month also won't get help, unless Congress extends the subsidy program.
The benefit helps people pay premiums under a program called COBRA, which lets workers keep their employer-sponsored health insurance for 18 months after leaving the job.
On average, unemployed families would see their COBRA payments jump from $389 to $1,111 a month without the subsidy, according to a report released last week by Families USA, a national health-care consumer advocacy group. That's about 83 percent of the typical unemployment check.
The U.S. Treasury is still compiling data that would determine how many people have lost their subsidies, said Cheryl Fish-Parcham, deputy director of health policy at Families USA.
But because of differences in average state earnings and health-care costs, it is clear that the Mountain State will be hit especially hard, said Perry Bryant, executive director of West Virginians for Affordable Health Care.
Unsubsidized COBRA payments would eat up 98 percent of the typical West Virginian's unemployment check, according to the Families USA report.
"Without an extension by Congress, this will have a greater impact on West Virginia than all but nine other states," Bryant said.
Bills are pending in the U.S. House and Senate to extend the subsidy another six months.
"This is an issue that Congress has before it right now, but whether Congress votes on it is another matter," Fish-Parcham said.
In West Virginia, the unemployment rate is 7.7 percent, according to Workforce West Virginia's most recent data.
Meadows' husband had worked as a warehouseman at McJunkin, Meadows said. He had been with the company more than 40 years.
"It's not their fault; it's just the economy," she said. "We're not the only ones. There's a lot of people in this shape."
COBRA can be a big help because group insurance provides better, more affordable coverage than plans in the individual market, Fish-Parcham said. Still, it is extremely pricey and doesn't help people whose employers have gone out of business.
"The downfall is that it doesn't help everybody," she said. And "without the subsidy, it's just not affordable to most people who have lost their jobs."
COBRA payments are so expensive that less than 10 percent of eligible people take the benefit, Bryant said.
Reach Alison Knezevich at alisonk@wvgazette.com or 304-348-1240.
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