“Among people who become uninsured after job loss, we estimate that nearly half (12.7 million) are eligible for Medicaid, and an additional 8.4 million are eligible for marketplace subsidies, as of May 2020”, according to a recent Kaiser Family Foundation report.
Arizonans need compassionate help with more than food and housing, thousands have lost health insurance coverage provided by their employer. Unknown to many people, there is a statewide network of caring nonprofit employed health insurance Assisters. Go to www.coveraz.org/Connector or call 800.377.3536 for bilingual help.
People who are unemployed who are uninsured and people who have recently lost health insurance coverage have options:
Some people who may have lost employer sponsored insurance will be eligible for COBRA. However, COBRA is very expensive because the consumer pays both their portion and the employers share of the monthly premium.
However, people who have lost coverage within the past 60 days are eligible for a Special Enrollment Period in the Health Insurance Marketplace (healthcare.gov). Many people who have lost coverage and income will now be eligible for significant financial assistance which can make coverage affordable. In most cases, coverage from Healthcare.gov will be less costly than COBRA.
For uninsured people with low incomes and for people who have lost most or all of their income, AHCCCS (Medicaid in Arizona) is available. AHCCCS coverage is at no-cost and does not have high deductibles and has more health care providers and hospitals available than most insurance plans.
For people without insurance (many are barred from coverage due to immigration status) there are more than 20 Federally Qualified Community Health Centers, with 175 location in Arizona, which offer primary care and a “sliding-fee-scale”.
Thanks to Arizona Faith Network for these resources in their recent newsletter.
