Stimulus to offer health subsidies for jobless, senator says

The economic stimulus package now being assembled on Capitol Hill will include significant subsidies to help the newly unemployed keep their health insurance after they lose their jobs, the chairman of the Senate Finance Committee said. COBRA benefits let laid-off workers keep their group healthcare coverage for up to 18 months, but the benefits are too expensive for many unemployed people because they must pay the full cost of their premiums. Democratic senators want the federal government to ease that burden so more people can keep their insurance.