Since assuming office mid last week all eyes have been on US President Barack Obama. One of his major promises is to make sure health care is not only widely available but also cheaply and easily affordable. Having successfully sold his health insurance plan in which the government would intervene to control prices, his assumption of office, as the country’s chief executive, would therefore see him translate this promise to reality.

The first step taken by the new president to make it easier for children to enjoy health coverage in the country where millions of children from low-income families are being excluded has been hailed by observers and analysts within and out America. The extension of the State Children’s Health Insurance Programme (SCHIP) to cover additional 4 million children was therefore seen as only a prelude.

Insurance for workers

Popular among American workers is the employer-sponsored health insurance. Sometime ago a study found that despite many people totally depending on it, it was becoming increasingly expensive as many workers had to top from their own pocket what their employers paid. But the situation has now been altered significantly by the rising level of unemployment, which has hit a record rate in the last 16 years.

With a significant percentage of the American adult population being laid off it, therefore, means they would need to seek an alternative means of keeping their health insurance. That alternative is the safety-net scheme Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act or “COBRA”.

COBRA as expensive option

Under the programme workers could hang on to their employers’ health insurance for up to 18 months after leaving a job. But they may have to pay the full cost of the premium in addition to a two per cent fee. This full payment arises from the fact that their former employer no longer subsidises the cost.

Recent studies have, however, shown that only a few laid-off workers can afford to keep themselves insured under the COBRA, especially due to its high cost. A study by The Commonwealth Fund recently found that only nine per cent of workers who lost their jobs in 2006 actually benefitted from the scheme. Many others had to seek solace in the individual insurance market, public insurance programmes or even chose to continue life without any cover.

Experts, having analysed the entire situation, especially where unemployment rate is progressively soaring and many people have no access to health coverage, posit that disaster is looming. In 2007, it was discovered that up to 46 million US citizens had no health insurance. Today the figure may be well above that.

While a few people that find themselves suddenly without a means of livelihood could still be offered some coverage under a policy enjoyed by their spouse, the majority are left to wallow in hopelessness. This led analyst to argue that health insurance suddenly gets beyond the research of people who need it most at a time they need it most – period of high unemployment.

President Obama has, since his election, been struggling to fix the seriously ailing economy. It is hoped that he can, in the same vein, address the issue of health coverage for America’s growing population of unemployed.