By: Health Insurance
Submitted: 2009-09-25 10:27:24 | Word Count: 475
As our economy continues to struggle and Congress works to hammer out health care reform legislation, there are still the mounting casualties of a diminished workforce.
With job loss comes the loss of health care benefits. U.S. Census numbers just released show that overall, 1 in 6 Coloradans did not have health insurance last year.
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9NEWS hosted a Health Insurance Line9 this week and a lot of calls came in asking what can be done if you have lost your job.
"If they didn't qualify for the subsidy through their employer, sometimes they're eligible for a short-term medical policy, which is like a band-aid in between jobs or for people who are looking for other options," Dana Dansareau of Medicare Benefit Advisors, LLC said.
"[There were] lots of calls about the COBRA [extended company health benefits] and [Colorado] Continuation [a state alternative to COBRA] benefits and people who are just having a hard time making that insurance premium payment," she added.
Experts say if you lose your job you should check to see if you can be covered under your spouse's insurance plan if he or she is working.
Also, check with your former employer to see if you are eligible for COBRA or Colorado Continuation/Conversion benefits.
Dansareau also says people should look into limited benefit plans through a private health insurance provider. In some cases these might be less expensive to consumers.
Across the country, Colorado's numbers are above the national average and rank 16th-highest among the 50 states.
The Denver Post reports that the disparities in the number of uninsured residents in Colorado is huge, ranging from almost one in four in Aurora to one in 20 in Highlands Ranch, according Census numbers.
State demographer Elizabeth Garner told the Post Colorado's above-average rate may be the result of its disproportionate number of small businesses.
Insurance-industry experts say small businesses have suffered the most in the economic crisis, contributing to the increase in the number of uninsured.
"They are smaller and run on thinner margins," Neil Waldron told the Post, chief marketing officer of Rocky Mountain Health Plans.
The Census Bureau figures found Aurora and Denver had the highest uninsured rates, 23.3 percent and 22.6 percent, respectively.
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