5 ms·

What happens if you lose your job and, before you find a new one, have serious medical problems? Who picks up the bill?

• pc86 10y ago
  Subsidized insurance coverage is available after job loss and was prior to the ACA so I'm not sure what point you're trying to prove.
  • lgieron 10y ago
    I am not trying to prove anything, I'm just asking (I'm not from the US). If that's the case, why are people so many worried about losing healthcare coverage after leaving their jobs (to work on personal project for example)? Is it different if you leave voluntarily vs being sacked?
    • Amezarak 10y ago
      Except in the states that refused the Affordable Care Act Medicaid expansion, unemployed people qualify for free medical care via Medicaid, assuming they did not keep their old health care through COBRA or something.
      • lbhnact 10y ago
        This is a bit off for most people that might actually be affected by the unemployment->insurance loss->need to get insurance asap problem. About 30-40% of non-medicare America lives in non-expansion states, more if you include long-term resident undocumented (not just seasonal workers). Medicaid is not available to 'unenemployed' people in most states in any sort of automatic way, so if you were employed in most middle class jobs, you won't qualify without serious tax shifting around the eligibility year enrollment cycle. If you make under 133% of the federal poverty level in non-expansion states, you don't qualify for the exchanges. Each non-expansion state's metrics for Medicaid qualification are slightly different. Unless you are under-18, a pregnant mother, or have ESRD, you probably don't qualify. Also, to a different point above, COBRA is not 'discounted'. It temporary, but generally just as expensive as private insurance. Kaiser Family Foundation is a great place for digestible data on US health care.
        • Amezarak 10y ago
          > If you make under 133% of the federal poverty level in non-expansion states, you don't qualify for the exchanges. You can buy insurance on the exchanges, you just don't get subsidies. Which does make it a largely moot point, since the last time I checked premiums for the low-end plans ran around $600/month unsubsidized, obviously out of reach for anyone who would have otherwise qualified for Medicaid. > you won't qualify without serious tax shifting around the eligibility year enrollment cycle. I could be mistaken, but I've helped people with this process personally and we didn't run into any problems in that regard. Lose your job, you're making $0/month, you qualify and there's no tax things we had to deal with. (I can't say, of course, that we did it all correctly but nobody has come back and punished her for what we did.) > Also, to a different point above, COBRA is not 'discounted'. It temporary, but generally just as expensive as private insurance. I am fully aware, but a hypothetical middle to upper-middle class person who lost their job would have that option available to them unless they had no savings.
    • pc86 10y ago
      I don't know if the terms of your departure affect COBRA coverage or not, but Medicaid is means tested so its coverage is based on income and financial measures, not the reasons why you are in the financial position you are (e.g. leaving v. being terminated).
  • Retric 10y ago
    It's not subsided you just pay a group rate. Basically COBRA let you maintain coverage by paying full out of pocket costs. That got to be over 500$ / month for a young, healthy, single person getting solid coverage and not actually cheaper than what was on the market. It was not even tax deductible like employee health coverage.
• a_c_s 10y ago
  If someone is between jobs they can (usually) use COBRA to keep the same coverage they had at their last job by paying the full cost (the part the employer paid & the part the employee paid). Since employers often pay more than half the cost, this is often expensive and also only lasts for a certain period of time (18 to 36 months, depending on the situation). They could also buy coverage on their state's healthcare exchange at whatever the market rate is - depending on the state this may or may not be affordable. If someone can't afford coverage they might qualify for Medicare. If someone is uninsured then they are liable for 100% of the bill.