Tennesee Resident Helped by Expanding Health Insurance Program

With a weak national economy, health officials in Tennessee are offering some residents health insurance coverage who are working fewer hours of have lost their jobs.

The state health insurance program, CoverTN, will now offer health insurance plans for residents who lost their jobs in the last six months and worked at least one 20-hour week since their job loss, reported the Memphis Commercial Appeal.

Residents who will qualify for the CoverTN insurance will have to have earned less than $43,000 per year at their last job. Steohani Ryan, director of CoverTN said, "We recognize the downturn in the economy and businesses looking at layoffs and having to close."

Tennessee residents who qualify for this new expansion of CoverTN will pay two-thirds of the health plan premium. A non-smoker who is between 30 and 39 years old with a normal weight would pay $95 a month for the state-subsidized plan. Even though this could help many residents obtain affordable insurance, critics of the CoverTN program say the coverage is far too limited.

The cap for the benefits are at $25,000, which would suggest that major medical coverage would not be an option. Tony Garr, of the Tennessee Health Campaign, says that is not enough. He asks, "If you were looking for insurance for your home, would you buy insurance that would only replace your bathroom if your home were demolished?