Job loss presents big challenges on health coverage

When Gwendolyn Robinson of Goochland was laid off in February, it didn't affect her alone. Her husband counted on the health insurance she carried through her work as a receptionist.

They pondered their options: continuing coverage through a federal program, short-term insurance or going without.

And then Milton Robinson Jr. got a blazing toothache.

At a walk-in clinic, they were told the visit would cost $165 -- too much for a couple struggling on one income.

So they headed to their local dentist, who referred Milton, a dump-truck driver, to the Goochland Free Clinic and Family Services. The result: Milton treated his toothache, and the couple learned about a medical safety net.

"A lot of people are unemployed, and they don't know anything about a free clinic," Gwendolyn Robinson said.

Virginia's unemployment rate in March was 7 percent. That translates to nearly 290,000 people claiming unemployment benefits, about twice as many as a year earlier.

As the recession continues, more and more unemployed people are dealing with issues beyond a bad job market. Finding insurance, paying for health care and figuring how to keep up with expensive prescriptions can be equally challenging.

"I just can't afford to get any coverage," said Mark Johnson, a laid-off Circuit City employee. His separation package paid for health insurance only through March 31.

Johnson said the cost of getting an individual policy, even short term, would have been cost-prohibitive.

Many people laid off from companies that offered health insurance can continue their coverage through COBRA, the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act. In the past, former em ployees had to pay 102 percent of the cost in order to continue their coverage -- a daunting prospect when they have lost their employment income. But the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, enacted in February, has provisions to cover 65 percent of insurance premiums for up to nine months.

But if the employer went out of business, ended health benefits or did not offer them at all, workers can't use COBRA. Johnson is among thousands of former Circuit City employees who lost insurance coverage when their companies went out of business, stripping them of even the COBRA option.

Unwilling to go without coverage, Johnson had steeled himself to pay for COBRA until he found out it wasn't available to him. But he did recently find new work, with insurance benefits.

For those eligible for COBRA, the premium can be prohibitive.

On average, a single person pays about 16 percent of the total insurance premium when enrolled in an employer-sponsored plan. For a family, the average is 27 percent, according to a January study by Families USA, a health-care advocacy group. So paying 35 percent is a tough haul for the jobless.

"[The cost] is still a chunk of money people don't have when they are struggling to pay the rent or keep the lights on," said Jill A. Hanken, a staff attorney at the Virginia Poverty Law Center.

When Robinson looked at her COBRA options, the total cost was $850 per month, or nearly $300 a month with the subsidy.

"It was too much for me to pay because me being unemployed and not having any income coming in, I knew I could not afford it," she said.

Now, she and her husband rely on the Goochland clinic.

"We're getting it taken care of," Robinson said of their health care. "We'll be all right."

Contact Emily C. Dooley at (804) 649-6016 or .

Contact Louis Llovio at (804) 649-6348 or .