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COBRA Health Premium Subsidy Ending
The end is near for one of the federal government’s most popular health care programs, a federal subsidy for individuals on COBRA. The Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act, known as COBRA, will no longer be subsidized by the government beginning Sept. 1.
The subsidy was enacted as part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA). Under the subsidy program, the federal government paid 65 percent of an individual’s COBRA premium until he or she became eligible for other employer-based coverage.
The initial subsidy was later extended another two months, and it was extended again for another 15 months for anyone going on COBRA from Sept. 1, 2010, to May 31, 2010. The last of those eligible for the subsidy will roll off Aug. 31.
