Full Speed Ahead for Bill To Expand Eligibility for Cal-COBRA Coverage
The Assembly Health Committee has approved a measure (AB 23) that would expand COBRA eligibility to workers at California firms with fewer than 20 employees and forwarded the measure to the Assembly Appropriations Committee, the Los Angeles Times reports. The measure was introduced last week.
Currently, only workers at firms with at least 20 employees are eligible for health insurance coverage through COBRA, a federal law that permits laid-off employees to maintain the health insurance coverage they had through their employers so long as the laid-off workers cover the full cost of the premiums.
The bill, by Assembly members Nathan Fletcher (R-San Diego) and Dave Jones (D-Sacramento), would expand eligibility for California's COBRA program, Cal-COBRA, and require health insurers to inform previously insured workers about a federal subsidy for COBRA coverage.
A provision in the federal economic stimulus package would subsidize 65% of the cost of COBRA coverage for some laid-off workers for up to nine months (Zwahlen, Los Angeles Times, 3/31).
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