COBRA Afterthought

Your otherwise good article today about the benefits locally of the American Rescue Plan includes one of the lesser-known benefits, 100 percent government payment of COBRA, which extends health insurance when a person leaves an employer.

However, it is important for people to know that they are eligible for this 100 percent payment through September even if they did not take advantage of COBRA when they were given the opportunity when their coverage lapsed, which most people didn’t because COBRA is too expensive to pay when a person has been laid off. Communication about this is poor, and lots of eligible people don’t know about this very important opportunity.