Va. General Assembly to Vote on Unemployment Package
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April 8, 2009
Richmond - The Virginia General Assembly holds an up or down vote today on a series of amendments put forward by Governor Tim Kaine to modernize the state's unemployment program. One key provision is "mini-COBRA," which gives laid-off employees of small businesses the choice of continuing their health care coverage. John McInerney, health policy director of The Commonwealth Institute for Fiscal Analysis, notes that currently, laid-off employees at businesses with fewer than 20 employees don't get a choice to continue their health benefits.
"So it's very targeted, and it would only allow the workers in small businesses to access the same level of federal assistance as their counterparts in larger businesses."
McInerney says the goal of the "mini-COBRA" amendment is to give as many Virginians as possible the opportunity to tap into federal stimulus dollars.
"Essentially, they would just have to notify the insurer that that employee has been laid off. The employee, after leaving the job, would make their payments to the insurer, so any administrative cost would only be on the insurer."
Opposition to the measure focuses on the linking of the benefit to other expansions of the state's unemployment program But McInerney notes that the provision is temporary - and small businesses will only have to update the worker's status to the health insurer. He adds that the amendment makes small business employees eligible for the federal stimulus program that pays 65 percent of COBRA premiums to Americans who lose their job during the current recession.
COBRA coverage allows workers to keep their health insurance coverage for up to 18 months after they lose their jobs. The latest jobless number for Virginia is 6.7 percent.
COBRA refers to the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1986, which provided for employees to be able to keep their coverage at their own expense.