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Old 03-12-2010, 10:59 AM
  #125  
navigatro
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Originally Posted by 767pilot View Post
as a matter of fact, he does. There is government help now in paying the cobra premium
Unfortunately, Those furloughed from UPS will NOT be eligible for this assistance, since eligibility will expire on March 31, 2010:

President Obama signed the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) on February 17, 2009. Under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, certain individuals who are eligible for continued health insurance coverage under the federal COBRA law, or the Massachusetts mini-COBRA law, may receive a subsidy for 65% of the costs of their health care premium. On December 19, 2009, the President signed the Department of Defense Appropriations Act, 2010 extending the "stimulus" unemployment benefits through March 31, 2010 and increasing the COBRA coverage from 9 months to fifteen months. If eligible, instead of paying 100% of the premium, you will pay only 35%, for up to fifteen months, and the organization to which you pay the premium, usually your employer, will pay the remainder of the premium -- 65% -- and offset that expense with a tax credit.
Important requirements:
  • You must have been involuntarily terminated from employment between September 1, 2008 and March 31, 2010.
  • You must be eligible for COBRA benefits – if you were terminated for gross misconduct, for example, you are ineligible for COBRA.
  • Even if you were previously eligible for COBRA benefits but you rejected those benefits, you may still be eligible for the new benefit. You have 60 days from receipt of notice from your employer to elect COBRA coverage.
  • The benefit phases out for individuals whose gross income exceeds $125,000, and for those who file joint returns if their income exceeds $250,000.
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