It is unfortunate that the loss of your job almost always coincides with the loss of your health insurance. At a time when you are already dealing with stress and frustration, life adds the loss of health insurance to the situation. What are your options when your employer no longer subsidizes your health insurance plan? Where do you and your family turn when you have lost your income and now find that you have also lost your health insurance coverage?

There are a few options available but there are no absolute solutions. Cost plays a large part in the choices available at a time when you have just lost your income. If your spouse has a job and is eligible for coverage at his/her employer, this might be the ideal option for your family. Some employers do not offer family coverage, but this option should definitely be investigated. Recent unemployment is a valid reason for starting a policy outside of the normal enrollment period, so this is on your side.

Any employer who has at least 20 employees must offer COBRA (Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act) as an alternative insurance plan. This insurance is offered for a term of up to 18 months and will cover you and your family members. The problem is that it is very expensive. Employers are permitted to charge up to 102% of the current premium. You may not have realized that you were only contributing a very small portion of your health insurance premium while employed. This will all change now.

Investigate insurance coverage through trade groups, alumni associations, AARP for people over 50. There are many groups who would welcome you and your family as participants. Compare costs and choose what is most cost effective for you.

Workers who are 65 or over would be eligible for Medicare coverage. In the majority of situations they are already receiving hospital coverage. When losing their employee coverage, they are eligible for a special enrollment period to sign up for Part B and Part D coverage without incurring any financial penalty.

Yes, the politicians are constantly saying that they are going to address the existing health crisis in this country and will make sure that all citizens have health insurance coverage. Listen to them on the campaign trail but, remember, once they are in office, they discover that their plan doesn’t work. This has happened repeatedly and the end result is that this crisis is becoming worse each year and does not appear to be any closer to a solution.

The individual stories are so sad that it embarrasses me to think our government has allowed things to go this far. I just read about a man in Los Angeles who was a diabetic. He knew that he was about to be laid off from his job and would lose his health insurance plans. He actually made the decision to have his foot amputated before losing his health insurance benefits. Another true life story tells of a woman without health insurance who was suffering from abdominal plans. It took her a year to locate a physician willing to see an uninsured patient. This poor woman died of ovarian cancer at a young age.

These two individuals, along with others, will be the center of a television documentary entitled “Critical Condition” which will be shown on PBS on September 30th. I hope everyone will make an effort to watch this show so that we will all be more aware of the crisis our citizen’s are facing daily. It is imperative that we remember these people when we are asked to vote. We must demand health insurance for everyone. Tune into this show and see an actual “Reality” show.