Bill Text: CA AJR28 | 2009-2010 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: COBRA premiums: federal subsidy. [Track Bill]
Status: 2010-01-04 - Referred to Com. on HEALTH. [AJR28 Detail]
Download: California-2009-AJR28-Introduced.html
BILL NUMBER: AJR 28 INTRODUCED
BILL TEXT
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Villines
OCTOBER 30, 2009
Relative to health care coverage.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AJR 28, as introduced, Villines. COBRA premiums: federal subsidy.
This measure would urge the Congress of the United States to pass
an extension of the COBRA premium subsidy enacted under the federal
American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 in order to continue
to allow terminated workers to maintain their employer-based group
health care coverage.
Fiscal committee: no.
WHEREAS, The United States is facing the longest and deepest
recession since World War II. The national unemployment rate reached
a 26-year high of 9.7 percent in August 2009; and
WHEREAS, In California, unemployment rates have risen well above
the national average to 12.2 percent in September 2009; and
WHEREAS, As Californians lose their jobs, many lose their
employer-provided health care coverage; and
WHEREAS, Under federal law, certain workers and their families who
lose their health benefits have the right to choose to continue the
group health benefits provided by their group health plan for limited
periods of time under the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation
Act of 1985 (COBRA); and
WHEREAS, Studies indicate that COBRA policies can be prohibitively
expensive for recently laid off employees; and
WHEREAS, The Kaiser Family Foundation reports that in 2008, the
average monthly health care premium for a family was $1,057. An
average unemployed person would be spending a hefty 74 percent of his
or her unemployment insurance on premiums for a family health plan,
not including the deductibles or copayments for prescriptions or
doctor and hospital visits; and
WHEREAS, In recognition of the impact of job losses on individuals
and families, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009
(ARRA) provides a subsidy for workers who lose their jobs between
September 1, 2008, and December 31, 2009, and purchase health care
coverage through COBRA; and
WHEREAS, Under ARRA, the federal government subsidizes 65 percent
of the COBRA premiums for up to nine months of coverage and extends
the window of opportunity to sign up for COBRA coverage by 60 days
for workers who were laid off between September 1, 2008, and the day
ARRA went into effect; and
WHEREAS, The 65 percent subsidy brings the average family health
care premium down to $370 per month, or 26 percent of the average
monthly unemployment benefit; and
WHEREAS, This subsidy has allowed laid off workers to maintain
their health care coverage while they continue to look for work; and
WHEREAS, The subsidy has successfully made health care coverage
under COBRA more affordable and has doubled the percentage of laid
off employees who opt for COBRA; and
WHEREAS, The subsidy will not be available to employees who are
laid off after December 31, 2009, but the need for the subsidy will
still be present and is in fact expected to grow in 2010. The
Congressional Budget Office predicts that the national unemployment
rate will grow to 10.2 percent next year; now, therefore, be it
Resolved by the Assembly and the Senate of the State of
California, jointly, That the Legislature urges the Congress of the
United States to pass an extension of the COBRA premium subsidy
enacted under the federal American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of
2009 in order to continue to allow terminated workers to maintain
their employer-based group health care coverage; and be it further
Resolved, That the Chief Clerk of the Assembly transmit copies of
this resolution to the President and Vice President of the United
States, to the Speaker of the House of Representatives, to the
Majority Leader of the Senate, and to each Senator and Representative
from California in the Congress of the United States.
