Flynn P
Urban Institute, Washington DC 20037.
Inquiry. 1994 Summer;31(2):215-20.
The Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act (COBRA) represents the first national employer mandate to address the problems associated with lost employment-related health insurance. This paper presents findings from two unique data sets on the incidence of COBRA coverage, election rates by type of qualifying event, and the demographic and labor market characteristics of covered individuals for the period 1987-1991. An estimated 1.3 million adults, aged 40 to 64, used COBRA in 1988. Nearly two-thirds had insurance in their own names, and the remaining third were dependents. From 1987 to 1991, 22% of those experiencing qualifying events elected to use COBRA. While work-related qualifying events were more prevalent than family-related events, election rates were higher in cases of family-related events. The information gained on the use of COBRA serves as a basis for the future design of a health insurance system that allows portability of benefits across jobs.
《综合预算协调法案》（COBRA）是首个旨在解决与就业相关的医疗保险丧失问题的全国性雇主强制规定。本文展示了两个独特数据集的研究结果，这些数据涉及1987年至1991年期间COBRA保险覆盖的发生率、按资格事件类型划分的参保率，以及参保人员的人口统计学和劳动力市场特征。据估计，1988年有130万年龄在40至64岁之间的成年人使用了COBRA保险。近三分之二的人以自己的名义参保，其余三分之一是受抚养人。在1987年至1991年期间，经历资格事件的人中有22%选择使用COBRA保险。虽然与工作相关的资格事件比与家庭相关的事件更为普遍，但在与家庭相关的事件中，参保率更高。所获得的关于COBRA保险使用情况的信息，为未来设计一个允许福利在不同工作间转移的医疗保险系统提供了依据。
