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Gaining Alaska Health Insurance After Losing Your Job

1. If you recently lost your job, had health insurance at that job, and...

...your former employer had at least 20 workers:

Under a federal law (called "COBRA"), if your former employer had at least 20 workers, you have the right to stay in the health plan you had at that job. However, you must pay the total premium yourself, which can be very expensive. And you must act quickly -- you generally only have 60 days from the time you lose your job to sign up for COBRA. COBRA usually guarantees 18 months of coverage, but under special circumstances you can get 29 or 36 months of coverage. Some states provide assistance with COBRA premiums to people with disabilities or low incomes.

Your former employer (the human resources or personnel department) is required to tell you about your COBRA rights.

To learn more about your rights to continue coverage, check out the U.S. Department of Labor's "Frequently Asked Questions about COBRA Continuation Coverage" on the agency's Web site at www.dol.gov/ebsa/faqs/faq_consumer_cobra.htmlor call toll free 1.866.275.7922 for a referral to the best place to answer your questions. You can also call the Alaska Division of Insurance at 1.800.INSURAK or visit www.dced.state.ak.us/insurance.

2. If you recently lost your job because of trade policy -- for example, increased imports or jobs moving overseas...

...a federal law called the Trade Adjustment Assistance Reform Act may pay 65% of the cost of your health insurance for up to 3 years. You might qualify for this help, for example, if your employer laid off workers because the company's products are being replaced by products from other countries or because the company is using more workers in other countries. To leArn more about this option, contact the Health Coverage Tax Credit (HCTC) Customer Contact Center: Call toll-free 1.866.628.HCTC or check out their Web site at www.irs.gov/pub/irs-utl/hctc_program_kit_07-05.pdf.