In Depth Look At Health Insurance for Unemployed Americans

On the big list of priorities, health insurance — for unemployed Americans, at least — isn’t exactly a high-ranking item. If you’re lucky enough to still be receiving unemployment checks, chances are your unemployment insurance benefits are worth too much to allow you access to Medicaid. Health care costs in America are ridiculously expensive to pay up front — and many places charge you more up front than they would charge your insurance if you did have some, almost like an ‘unemployment tax’ on your doctor’s bills.

On the other hand, if you’ve ever looked into health insurance for unemployed people, you know that it’s not any better on that end. Health insurance for unemployed folks means you have to get an individual-purchase plan, because you have no employer to purchase a group plan. Individual-purchase plans have naturally higher premiums than group plans because there’s no group to spread the risk between. Add that to the fact that you no longer have a second party (your employer) footing part of the bill, and for the unemployed, insurance costs simply skyrocket. Fortunately, there are a couple of other options.

Special Insurance Programs for Unemployed People

On the positive end, there are federal programs and private carriers out there who provide insurance help for the unemployed, often in the form of special funds or programs that offer special assistance securing health insurance for unemployed workers. The Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1986 — or COBRA — is the most often-mentioned such plan, but it’s best ignored, as it’s premiums tend to run almost $700 per month! You’ll have to research any private-carrier plans on your own, as the amount of special unemployment protection offered tends to vary by locale.

Short Term Health Insurance for Unemployed People
Failing to find a program like that, you’ll want to check out the potential for a short-term health insurance policy. Short-term insurance offers less coverage, but it will cover catastrophic emergencies for six to twelve months, giving you time to find a longer-term solution — hopefully, a job. There are a few reasons that this type of coverage, if you’re on unemployment, appeals: it’s inexpensive, it offers decent amounts of catastrophic coverage, and it offers same-day approval for most applicants.

To be blunt, the prospect of long-term unemployment appeals to exactly no one, and one of the biggest dangers of being in that situation is the complete lack of ability to deal with unexpected disasters. Unfortunately, to maintain that ability in the face of unemployment, you have to be willing to spend a little bit of each hard-earned unemployment check making sure that you have access to proper health insurance for unemployed folks.

Unlike some kinds of insurance that start to provide for you when you become unemployed — like unemployment mortgage protection insurance, as a random example — health insurance only becomes harder to bear the cost of when you have little to no income. But as you may have heard, nothing bankrupts more Americans every year than health care bills — and if something significant happens to you without proper coverage, you’re liable for the entire bill. It’s hard to afford that if you’re a middle class family with two breadwinners, much less one of the ranks of the unemployed.

No matter what you may think about the options regarding health insurance for the unemployed, you would be wise to pursue some form of health insurance — the last thing you need in addition to the stress of unemployment is an illness or injury that even further devastates your finances.

© 2010 All247News. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Learn more about our Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.