People who lose their jobs risk losing their health insurance and their homes. What can they do? Here are some tips and places to turn to for help.
Health care
• If you're married, apply immediately to get on your spouse's plan, even if open enrollment is over. Certain life events – such as a birth of a child, marriage and a spouse losing a job – usually allow employees to make changes.
• If you had health insurance, you can buy extended coverage under the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act, or COBRA. Talk to your employer for information. You may have to pay for the entire premium because employers aren't required to pay for any of it – although it could still be cheaper than buying comparable insurance on your own, according to the U.S. Department of Labor.
• Obtain coverage from a private insurance plan. A high-deductible option will provide lower premiums.
• If you've been unemployed for at least three months and meet certain income criteria, your children could be eligible for the state's low-cost Healthy Families program. Call (888) 747-1222 for information. It could make sense to move your children to this program to save money on COBRA and private insurance coverage.
• The Sacramento County Primary Care Center on Broadway is the place of last resort for the medically indigent – but does not handle medical emergencies. Fees are based on ability to pay. For more information, visit the center at Broadway and Stockton Boulevard.
• The National Association of Health Underwriters, a trade group representing health insurance agents, brokers, consultants and benefit professionals, offers consumer guides at nahu.org/consumer/guides.cfm
Mortgages
• NeighborWorks Homeownership Center, Sacramento region: (916) 452-5356; www.nwsac.org.
• NeighborWorks America and Home Ownership Preservation Foundation national hotline: (888) 995-HOPE (4673).
• Home Loan Counseling Center of Sacramento: (916) 646-2005; www.hlcc.net.
• ByDesign Financial Solutions, Sacramento (formerly Consumer Credit Counseling Service): (800) 750-2227; www.bydesignsolutions.org.
• Sacramento Mutual Housing Association: (916) 453-8400, ext. 43. Staffers can accommodate those who speak Russian, Hmong, Vietnamese and Mien.
MORE HELP
Additional help with jobs, housing or credit.
– Bobby Caina Calvan and Jim Wasserman
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