625

[mogster]

625 – That’s the number of people who lost their health insurance EVERY HOUR in 2009



http://www.whitehouse.gov/health-care-meeting/by-the-numbers/625

[berni_mccoy]

1. Damn.

[Fleshdancer]

2. that's insane

Absolutely ridiculous.

[berni_mccoy]

3. What's even crazier

is that this thread is getting unrec'd.

[slipslidingaway]

5. Well I just gave it a rec because it also exposes the hazards of ...

keeping insurance tied to employment.

[slipslidingaway]

4. One major reason is because health insurance is tied to employment...

in other countries where they have a national system, you can lose your job but maintain your access to health care.

[berni_mccoy]

6. Except that COBRA would kick in for anyone who lost their job last year.

Yes, tying Health Insurance to unemployment is an issue, and that's why COBRA exists.

However, the problem with COBRA, and this is where your point is spot-on, is that the individual must pay the premium the employer was paying. That would certainly have an impact on that number from last year.

[slipslidingaway]

7. Exactly, I'm sure there are many people who lost their jobs and could not afford

the COBRA payments.

Look where employer based insurance has led us, but we keep trying to build on that foundation.

[Hissyspit]

8. When I lost my insurance in the 90s, I signed up for COBRA and immediately

found out that there wasn't a snowball's chance in hell that I could pay the premiums.

Voila. No health insurance for a long, long time.