Remaining positive and healthy while looking for job is very important. Extensions on employer insurance programs or CORBA plans can be expensive and hard to maintain financially especially during a long period of unemployment. Insurance is a necessity, and while looking for a job, taking care of yourself and your family can become a difficult battle. Fortunately for those experiencing the effects of a tough economy, there are other options to explore.
Even through COBRA is the easiest way to hold on to a group plan, it may not be the only way to provide insurance for yourself or your family. Every state has a Health Insurance Program for families that qualify. For children who do qualify this plan even includes dental insurance and is therefore well worth the effort of looking into even before other options.
Should you plan to stretch your savings by doing some freelancing or self-employment as you continue the hunt for permanent employment this too is an opportunity for finding group health plans. Unions for freelancers and the self-employed exist and many carry group insurance plans. Most of the reputable unions will require a certain number of work hours per week or a specific amount of money earned per month to join. For those working with another individual most states require insurers to offer plans to a with more than one employees.
If you are young and healthy, individual plans are sometimes the best options as these programs are often much less expensive than a COBRA. The downside is the coverage might not be as complete. An important consideration to keep in mind is to look for a plan which includes dental. A root canal or filling is painful both physically and for the wallet. Such trouble can strike the young and otherwise very healthy, so planning for this type of problem is vital.
The young also have another option. The the Affordable Care Act allows anyone under 26 to remain or become covered under a parent’s group, individual, or employer plan. Most insurers have volunteered to cover adults under their parents plan up to the age of 26 even if the individual is no longer technically a dependent.
Staying covered may take some searching and determination. It might also dictate a few sacrifices financially. The cost will prove worth the effort in the peace of mind being covered for medical issues and emergencies provides.