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The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted a major issue in the American medical system: medical insurance, for most people, is tied to their employment status. That’s fine for some scenarios, but when a pandemic causes many businesses to shut their doors and lay off thousands of employees, those employees are left out in the cold.
If you’ve been recently laid off and have medical bills, you’re likely scrambling to find some way to help with the costs. Thankfully, there are some ways you can get medical coverage even when you’re out of work. There’s no need to type “Humira Medicare cost” into your search bar; just follow this easy advice. There are many options available during this difficult time.
Despite threatening to do so, Trump never formally shut down the Affordable Care Act. Also known as Obamacare, this act offers a healthcare marketplace to American citizens that is independent of employment status.
To shop for healthcare on the marketplace, you normally have to wait for Open Enrollment in October. However, for the first sixty days after you lose employment, you’re able to enroll during an exception period. While some of these plans may look expensive at first blush, the government offers subsidies for lower-income customers.
Many newly unemployed people fall into this category. This means that your ACA coverage could be less expensive than you think! You can check the plans out at healthcare.gov.
If you have especially low income, you might not qualify for any ACA subsidies through the healthcare marketplace. Don’t panic if this is the case! You may be eligible for Medicaid, which is government medical coverage for low-income citizens. Several states offer Medicaid in an expanded capacity under the ACA.
It can be harder to qualify for Medicaid for some families. However, for those with lower income, it is an option. Recently unemployed folks often fall into this category. This is especially true if their only source of income was their job.
The other option to keep healthcare after being laid off is to pick up your employer’s end of the coverage through the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1985, or COBRA. However, this can be prohibitively expensive in many cases. Unfortunately, the average annual premiums of COBRA coverage is over $20,000.
While there are no clean answers to “how do I get health insurance when I’m unemployed,” there are resources available to help.
