The Lighter Side of COBRA

by Timothy Foley · 2009-01-13 15:56:00 UTC
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Just when you think the national debate of health care might not be permeating the cultural zeitgeist, The Onion delivers new hope. Their latest “American Voices” person-on-the-street column is about health insurance for the unemployed. It’s a tough call, but I’m going to go with Lori Connor (pictured), fictional "Electronics Repair" worker, as my favorite: “Sure I lost my job and my health insurance, but I also lost my will to live, so it doesn't really matter.”

As mentioned here on Friday, COBRA benefits – transitional health care benefits that allow you to stay on your employer’s plan so long as you pay the full costs of the plan – account for 30% of unemployment benefits for an individual and 83.6% of unemployed benefits for a family, according to FamiliesUSA’s new report. It’s not at all a funny situation for many families who will soon find themselves unable to afford COBRA and therefore uninsured.

The good news is help is (presumed to be) on the way in the stimulus package. Nancy Pelosi and Max Baucus both say that subsidies to make COBRA affordable will be part of the package, a central element of the $80-$100 billion on health care spending. (It sort of begs the question as to why you couldn’t apply for subsidies to COBRA when the economy was going well for the nation, albeit bad for you).  Depending on how quickly the package passes Congress, the real-life equivalents of Lori Connor have some hope.

The better news is that The Onion is making fun of it at all. Much like being mocked on Satuday Night Live means you've arrived, the fact that comedians are making fun of the connection between health care and the  economy backs up the polling – Americans are making the connection that fixing the economy means fixing health care. And they want solutions now.

Timothy Foley Tim has been an online organizer and blogger on health care policy for the Obama for America campaign and the Committee of Interns and Residents/SEIU Healthcare.
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