Wilmington, DE -- The following information was released by the office of the Lieutenant Governor of Delaware:
Lieutenant Governor Matt Denn announced today that federal health insurance assistance for Delawareans who have lost coverage during the current recession had been extended by Congress and the President. The health insurance assistance, part of the federal stimulus legislation enacted earlier this year, allows some terminated workers to have the federal government pay for 65% of their replacement health insurance benefits after they lose coverage.
Lieutenant Governor Denn has been asked by the Governor to oversee implementation of the federal stimulus package in Delaware.
The stimulus-funded health insurance benefits are an expansion of the federal government's COBRA law. Prior to the stimulus legislation, most employers with 20 or more employees were required by federal law to allow employees who lost their jobs to 'buy into' the employer's health insurance coverage for a period of at least 18 months. The cost to the employee of buying into the employer's health insurance program was the full cost to the employer of providing the benefits, plus a 2% administrative surcharge.
Because the cost of purchasing COBRA coverage was often prohibitively high, few displaced employees took advantage of the COBRA option. In passing the federal stimulus law, however, Congress and the President enacted a 65% subsidy for some employees choosing to purchase COBRA coverage-specifically, employees who involuntarily lost their jobs some time between September 1, 2008 and December 31, 2009. The subsidy was available for a nine month period-meaning that for some employees who chose this new option, it either had expired or was about to expire.
In legislation enacted on Monday of this week, the federal government made two important changes to this stimulus-funded COBRA legislation:
It extended the period of eligibility for the subsidy from nine months to fifteen months.
It extended the program through February 28, 2010.
'We want Delawareans who have lost their health insurance as a result of losing their jobs to know about this very important federal health care benefit,' Denn said. 'Its extension will mean the continued availability of health insurance coverage for many Delaware families who had lost their jobs and were otherwise on the verge of losing their ability to pay for health insurance.'
Delawareans interested in getting more details about federal assistance with health insurance benefits can do so on the web at www.dol.gov/cobra
