Posts
Each day that passes we feel the recession more. We see more friends being laid off and even more being short-listed for "voluntary retrenchment". Research by the government has indicated that some 2 million workers have already lost their jobs in the light of the previous credit crunch and the recession fall-out. The government estimates that another 4 million workers will lose their jobs before the economy makes a turn for the better. In view of these terrible stats, it's only normal for people to get anxious about their future.
For most people, next to the loss of income from the redundancy, their biggest concern will be the loss of health insurance coverage. This is one of the main concerns of many employees now that the cloud of redundancy has started rolling in and your job is not as secure as it once was. Even if you are made redundant with appropriate parachute payouts, it is impossible to live on that money for a long time, you will most probably lose the important health coverage that your company provides you and your family too.
There is a legislation called the COBRA law which for all intents and purposes was a law that was passed to ensure that employees would not go without their health coverage even if they were fired or retrenched. COBRA stands for Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act. The law states that assuming you are employed full-time by your employer and are back by employment papers that any health insurance coverage that you had when you were employed can be brought over to a private contract that you can continue paying for.
Most people would immediately think that this is a good thing, that they can continue their health insurance coverage for their entire family even if they are laid off. On the surface of it, it is a good thing however when the issue of cost comes into the equation then it becomes a bit complicated. Health insurance coverage that has been enabled by COBRA is almost always more expensive when compared to the ones that you can obtain from outside private health insurance quotes. You will have to pay for your employers portion, some government tax, administration fees and also your half of the contribution. It isn't rare to find that you end up paying 2-3 times more than you did when you were employed.
Most of the time if you leave your job with your COBRA enabled health insurance plan, it is almost mandatory to get another health insurance quote just so you can actually afford health insurance coverage. The shocking this is that there are people who actually think they should be happy to stick to their COBRA enabled health insurance plans despite the high charges. The choice of health insurance provider is yours and it is your responsibility to get the best quote and coverage that you can.
If you think you are getting ripped-off by your COBRA enabled health insurance then it really is up to you to go get another health insurance quote from another private vendor. It is however important to firstly understand what kind of coverage you are getting with your old health insurance policy. More often than not you will be notice that your job provided insurance is overly comprehensive. If you want to get and idea of the price differences between your COBRA health insurance and you new quote then you have to list down every coverage item that you had and mirror it with the new quote. That is the only way you can get a good indication of how much the new policy will cost you.
Job related health insurance is generally always a very comprehensive health insurance policy. This is because of the many employees that they have and the one policy has to cover the needs of most of their employees together. It can't be customized for the individual person or family. It is because of this that you must pick apart your COBRA enabled health insurance if you are intent on keeping it. There will be many coverage items that don't apply to you and can be taken off the policy. A good example of this would be how a 55 year old woman would more than likely not need any coverage that centers on pregnancy or how a healthy 23 year old man would not need disability coverage.
The point that we are trying to put forward is that the availability of health insurance even if you are made redundant isn't the issue. You will always have health insurance should you need it. You time will be better served if you put your energy towards looking for a new job and also searching for other health insurance quotes which are mo economical for you.
For most people, next to the loss of income from the redundancy, their biggest concern will be the loss of health insurance coverage. This is one of the main concerns of many employees now that the cloud of redundancy has started rolling in and your job is not as secure as it once was. Even if you are made redundant with appropriate parachute payouts, it is impossible to live on that money for a long time, you will most probably lose the important health coverage that your company provides you and your family too.
There is a legislation called the COBRA law which for all intents and purposes was a law that was passed to ensure that employees would not go without their health coverage even if they were fired or retrenched. COBRA stands for Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act. The law states that assuming you are employed full-time by your employer and are back by employment papers that any health insurance coverage that you had when you were employed can be brought over to a private contract that you can continue paying for.
Most people would immediately think that this is a good thing, that they can continue their health insurance coverage for their entire family even if they are laid off. On the surface of it, it is a good thing however when the issue of cost comes into the equation then it becomes a bit complicated. Health insurance coverage that has been enabled by COBRA is almost always more expensive when compared to the ones that you can obtain from outside private health insurance quotes. You will have to pay for your employers portion, some government tax, administration fees and also your half of the contribution. It isn't rare to find that you end up paying 2-3 times more than you did when you were employed.
Most of the time if you leave your job with your COBRA enabled health insurance plan, it is almost mandatory to get another health insurance quote just so you can actually afford health insurance coverage. The shocking this is that there are people who actually think they should be happy to stick to their COBRA enabled health insurance plans despite the high charges. The choice of health insurance provider is yours and it is your responsibility to get the best quote and coverage that you can.
If you think you are getting ripped-off by your COBRA enabled health insurance then it really is up to you to go get another health insurance quote from another private vendor. It is however important to firstly understand what kind of coverage you are getting with your old health insurance policy. More often than not you will be notice that your job provided insurance is overly comprehensive. If you want to get and idea of the price differences between your COBRA health insurance and you new quote then you have to list down every coverage item that you had and mirror it with the new quote. That is the only way you can get a good indication of how much the new policy will cost you.
Job related health insurance is generally always a very comprehensive health insurance policy. This is because of the many employees that they have and the one policy has to cover the needs of most of their employees together. It can't be customized for the individual person or family. It is because of this that you must pick apart your COBRA enabled health insurance if you are intent on keeping it. There will be many coverage items that don't apply to you and can be taken off the policy. A good example of this would be how a 55 year old woman would more than likely not need any coverage that centers on pregnancy or how a healthy 23 year old man would not need disability coverage.
The point that we are trying to put forward is that the availability of health insurance even if you are made redundant isn't the issue. You will always have health insurance should you need it. You time will be better served if you put your energy towards looking for a new job and also searching for other health insurance quotes which are mo economical for you.
About the Author:
Health Insurance is a necessity, find the right health insurance quotes with us at http://www.health-insurance.be.
No comments:
Post a Comment