WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Sherrod Brown (D-OH) joined 14 Senate Democrats in introducing the Worker Health Coverage Protection Act, a bill that would protect millions of unemployed or furloughed workers from losing their health insurance by enabling them to access subsidized COBRA coverage and keep their insurance. This legislation would provide full premium coverage to help newly unemployed Americans continue coverage in their previously elected employer-sponsored plans to ensure that they do not lose coverage due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Ensuring Americans have access to healthcare coverage during a once-in-a-lifetime pandemic should be a top priority for any responsible elected official. Instead, President Trump and the GOP are actively working to kick families off of their health insurance and roll back pre-existing condition protections, as we’re seeing record numbers of Ohioans losing their jobs and their health insurance at the same time. President Trump’s efforts are morally bankrupt, and I’ll continue fighting to make it easier, not harder, for Ohioans to have access to the healthcare coverage they need,” said Brown.

Since the middle of March, approximately 57 million Americans have filed for unemployment benefits, with an estimated 10 to 15 million also having lost their employer-sponsored health insurance. As of last month, more than 1.6 million Ohioans have claimed unemployment benefits in the last 21 weeks. Many unemployed Americans would prefer to remain on their employer health plan, known as COBRA, but it is often prohibitively expensive.  

In addition to this legislation, Brown is also supportive of efforts to strengthen Medicaid federal medical assistance percentages (FMAP) and the Affordable Care Act (ACA). In April, Brown blasted the Trump Administration’s efforts to repeal, sabotage, or undermine healthcare coverage provided by the ACA, by refusing to reopen enrollment for the ACA’s federal exchanges amid the coronavirus pandemic. In a letter to Secretary Alex Azar, Brown joined Senate Democrats in urging the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to allow Americans to enroll through a unique Special Enrollment Period (SEP) that should last throughout the duration of the pandemic in an effort to ensure comprehensive coverage for families and communities to protect themselves from COVID-related illness. Brown has also joined his colleagues in calling for enhancing the Medicaid federal medical assistance percentages (FMAP) to ensure continued and comprehensive coverage for enrollees and to sustain Medicaid programs in states like Ohio that have expanded their programs.

The legislation was also introduced by U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL), Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV), Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), Michael Bennet (D-CO), Jack Reed (D-RI), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Tina Smith (D-MN), Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), Debbie Stabenow (D-MI), Jacky Rosen (D-NV), and Bob Menendez (D-NJ).

The following organizations have endorsed the Worker Health Coverage Protection Act: AFL-CIO, UNITE HERE, UNITE HERE Local 1, National Coordinating Committee for Multiemployer Plans, Families USA, American Hospital Association, and Alliance to Fight for Health Care, Actors’ Equity Association, Air Line Pilots Association, International (ALPA), Alliance for Retired Americans (ARA), American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME), American Federation of Teachers (AFT), Communications Workers of America (CWA), Guild of Italian American Actors (GIAA), International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees (IATSE), International Association of Sheet Metal, Air, Rail and Transportation Workers (SMART). International Brotherhood of Boilermakers, Iron Ship Builders, Blacksmiths, Forgers and Helpers (IBB), International Brotherhood of Teamsters (IBT), International Union, United Automobile, Aerospace and Agricultural Implement Workers of America (UAW), United Steel, Paper and Forestry, Rubber, Manufacturing, Energy, Allied Industrial & Service Workers International Union (USW).

“In the middle of a national health crisis, 12 million working people have lost our job-based coverage due to loss of work, leaving millions in a financial bind if someone in their family needs care. We thank Senators Durbin and Cortez Masto for introducing crucial legislation to support workers’ coverage, an essential element of the federal response needed for this emergency,” said Richard Trumka, President of the AFL-CIO.

The Worker Health Coverage Protection Act would allow workers who have been involuntarily terminated in nearly all employment-based health plans, including private sector plans covered by the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA), multiemployer plans, state and local government plans, and the Federal Health Benefits Program, to access subsidized COBRA coverage.  Specifically, it would provide a 100 percent subsidy of COBRA health insurance premiums owed by unemployed workers to ensure that they do not lose coverage due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Furloughed workers whose health benefits continue while pay is suspended would also have their employee contributions 100 percent subsidized. These subsidies would not impact workers’ eligibility for unemployment benefits or other types of state or federal assistance.

This bill would also extend the period during which workers could elect COBRA coverage, and enable workers to access coverage even if they declined it before the subsidy was made available, thereby ensuring continuity of care amid the health and economic challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic. Employers and federal agencies would be required to conduct new notice and outreach activities to ensure workers are aware of the availability of the credit.

###