Families USA has a report (PDF) out detailing the inadequacy of COBRA. As you may know, COBRA allows displaced workers who lose their health insurance to purchase their previous employers’ policy for a certain period of time. In Oklahoma, the average worker who loses her job will pay 31.1% of her unemployment insurance on COBRA coverage. Even worse, if that worker must purchase insurance for her family, that premium will eat up nearly 83% of unemployment compensation. That family will have just $207 left for other necessities for an entire month. The result? Just 18 to 26% of eligible individuals elect to purchase COBRA benefits.
