Being unemployed means you look for help paying your bills wherever you can. I had contacted Senator Casey's office to find out if I qualified for the government subsidy that would pay 65% of my COBRA health insurance premiums but unfortunately I missed the start date of September 1, 2008 by 13 days. I was laid off from The Morning Call on August 18, 2008. But the clerk did tell me that the cut-off date for the program has been extended from December 31 of 2008 until December 31 of this year. That's good news for all of you who were laid off from TMC in May. COBRA is notoriously expensive, so if you were laid off between September 1, 2008 and December 31, 2009, you will be eligible for the subsidy.

If you want to find out about the program you can call one of the following three Department of Labor numbers: 

Toll free: 1-866-444-3272

Washington, D.C.: 1-202-693-8700

Philadelphia office:  215-861-5300

You can also visit the Department of Labor Web site at: www.dol.gov/ebfa/COBRA

 Best of luck to all of you!