by KYW's Michelle Durham
Thousands of people in the Delaware Valley who lost their jobs in the past few months are facing the same dilemma - how they can possibly afford to keep their health insurance when the payments to keep it going are sky high.
By law, if you lose your job, you have the right to continue your current health insurance for up to 18 months. The law is commonly referred to as Cobra, but the payments are much higher. Why? Wharton School professor Tom Baker specializes in risk and insurance:
"What Cobra allows you to do is to pay not just your portion of your employer's health insurance program but also the employer's portion, which means that at the very time you have no money, what you have to do is double, triple, quadruple, and quintuple the amount of money you are being asked to pay to keep your health insurance."
But Baker says if you allow your insurance to lapse and have a preexisting condition, it won't be covered for a year after you get new health insurance.
Consumer Advocate Lance Haver says there's not much more people can do.
Pennsylvania offers a basic plan without offer prescription coverage.
Both men says they'll be watching the Obama administration closely to see how this will be handled.
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