COBRA insurance subsidy program ends soon

A deluge of uninsured patients may swamp the health care system in the wake of the end of federally subsidized benefits for the uninsured.

Robert Resendes, the director of Yavapai County Community Health Services, said the current recession already has stretched his organization's programs.

"Ever since the economy started dropping, we've seen a huge increase in our numbers," Resendes said. "We'd expect to see a continued increase. In the last three years, we've seen a doubling of patients in our clinics."The county provides sliding scale fees for medical and dental service. Patients using the sliding scale clinics have increased from 15,270 for the fiscal year ending in June 2007 to 22,831 for 2008 to 27,379 for the year ending in June 2009.

Families USA, a national organization for health care consumers, said that unless lawmakers extend the subsidies, many Arizona workers who have lost their jobs also could lose the federal subsidy under the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1985 (COBRA) on Dec. 1. The subsidies began in March under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, and included those laid off beginning Sept. 1, 2008.

Eligible people pay 35 percent of their COBRA premiums and the remaining 65 percent goes to the insurance company through a tax credit, according to the U.S. Department of Labor.

Without continued help with COBRA payments, health insurance premiums would total 83 percent of the average unemployment check, putting health care coverage out of reach for many, Families USA contends.

But U.S. Rep. Ann Kirkpatrick said, via e-mail, that Congress may discuss proposals to extend the temporary assistance in December, although it has not worked out details.

"We need to be focused on doing all that we can to create and save jobs in our communities so that more people will be able to get and keep their insurance," Kirkpatrick said. "That continues to be my top priority. This program has done some good, but it is still expensive for our working families - it is a stopgap."

Robbie Nicol, spokesperson for Yavapai Regional Medical Center, was uncertain how much the change would affect the hospitals.

"It's difficult to accurately project what impact this change in the COBRA laws will have on our ERs," Nicol said. "It may certainly mean an increase in patients who are uninsured, but I don't have data that would help me be more specific."

"We want to reassure everyone in our communities that our emergency rooms in Prescott and Prescott Valley are available for them 24/7 when they need us," Nicol added.

Meanwhile, the county has hired more doctors to meet the increased demand, Resendes said.

"We would anticipate an increase in patients," Resendes said. "It's kind of tough to be proactive. We've never done it or seen it before. We will be promptly reactive. We try to build in enough flexibility that we'll be elastic. We're the safety net."