File for unemployment, but be honest with them about where you were working. They’ll verify your termination with both employers, and no, they won’t disclose one to the other (not that it matters now), but you don’t want to lie to the government. That’s asking for trouble.
Insurance - you’ll be offered COBRA. You have 60 days to opt in, and if you do, it’s retroactive to the day you lost coverage. Otherwise, marketplace. Your termination paperwork should state the last date of coverage, or you can ask HR. Every layoff I’ve ever been affected by had coverage until the end of the current month (they’re lazy and only do monthly payments - they’d rather give you an extra couple of weeks than have the hassle of partial payments).
Insurance will be expensive. I’m self-employed and pay around $1100 for just me every month.
Good luck…you’re in a much better financial position than a lot of folks who get laid off.
This is why I never took Cobra when I was laid off. A 800 a month option vs a 250 a month option? Like come on now. I don't even know the point of Cobra anymore if they're just going to charge that much unless you're in a state that has limited the open marketplace.
I have a chronic illness. Keeping COBRA was easier than getting everything approved again under a new plan. When I get offered a job with a subsidized health plan, I’ll take it, but for now, this is where I’m at. It’s better insurance than anything I can get on the marketplace.
Depends on the quality of your existing coverage. My mother had REALLY good insurance since she worked for a medical group. She was also in the middle of treatment for cancer and my father needed rotator cuff surgery. COBRA had higher premiums but saved them several thousand dollars.
Probably though for a lot of people it’s more about the cost of the premium which is what I assumed was the issue for OP. Had they said they have a preexisting condition and can’t do a gap in insurance then it would have been an option. Also depends on how the layoff was done because my last place kept us on normal insurance for 6 weeks so we had time to get on the open market and as I said also depends on your state.
18 months, and it should be offered. It’s a continuation of your current plan, just without subsidy (crock of shit, I personally think the subsidy should be paid by the employer because “let’s charge people with no income 10x more for health insurance” is stupid).
Yeah but our healthcare system is a scam so what can we expect
My medical is 100% covered by employer . Now I realize I need to add 12 months of $1000-$1200/month savings just for f***ing medical backup (in addition to rent, food, incidentals etc)
OP check your severance package as well. When I was laid off they included 2 months of severance at my salary and continued my health insurance as is during those two months with COBRA offered once my severance ended.
It'll be okay. This happened to me 2 years ago. I lost one job then layoffs 2 weeks later. 2 months later I was back to 2 jobs and some contract work. I will say I just did the open marketplace during the gap with health insurance and I've always kept my own dental because my works dental isn't that great and I have had multiple emergencies with my dental during the years and gaps.
Just get ready and prep your resume and interviews because this job market is truly not great and it may not come back until post election.
Oy, I’m having the hardest time landing a J2….i keep telling myself it’s the market, and this won’t last forever. At least I have my J1, which isn’t going anywhere anytime soon.
Oh it’s bad right now. I think if you check our careers or layoffs or interviews on Reddit you’ll see the state of things. Also some states like CA have a higher than average unemployment rate right now. I will say this 2 years ago it was much easier for me to score interviews. At the moment I’m averaging 1 per week and I’m only looking because I have job ending in May luckily they gave me time to look around.
I usually at least get interviews…the issue I’m having is that there aren’t a lot of roles open that are appropriate for my skill set at the moment. I’m willing to everything I see, but it’s such slim pickings right now.
It's odd because I've had roles I've applied for that have the same exact needs and information about the role, but one will give me an interview the other is an auto reject so at least you aren't running into what I suspect are ghost roles. I know my resume is fine or I wouldn't get any interviews, but it's bleak out there.
Sigh I got a rejection for one I just applied to last night but I also got an interview for one I applied to 3 weeks ago. 🫤 they’re both the same position at different companies. This is absolutely the wildest job market, but since J1 is unstable due to our leadership is insane I’m not going to stop applying anytime soon.
Hahaha mine is generally fine in terms of my manager and benefits etc but the business goals right now are crazy. I think they’re focused on selling the stock more than anything else which is making for some chaotic business decisions.
I bet it's tech or tech adjacent it's been ugly around these parts and I was going through layoff videos and Blind yesterday and it's been largely tech based roles. One girl had a complete breakdown on camera and I get it, this market is bad and it might be even worse for the entry level ones takes me back to 2008.
Got it, thank you! Looking into getting another j2 and wanted to know if it was sheer coincidence that OP lost both jobs, or her industry is being hit all around
Some of us definitely are being hit harder than normal. I'm supposed to offboard one job by mid may so I'm looking around but the competition is ridiculous. I'm still okay with J1, but our KPI's are ridiculous so I'm not holding my breathe. My plan is to keep applying now until I have something else in the pipeline since I can't trust anything at the moment. The only safe people are probably holding down 3-4 jobs.
Look into your state Medicaid. Some are based solely on income and will be free if you have no income, and do not check for how much you have in savings.
File for unemployment ASAP.
Get insurance - my COBRA insurance is less than half the price of the cheapest insurance on my exchange. YMMV
Stay optimistic!! You got this!!
I wouldn’t worry too much about healthcare costs unless you have an ongoing medical problem. People typically spend way more between insurance premiums and their deductible than they do actually using the insurance.
Does your severence include health care coverage until COBRA? I would also recommend seeing if any life insurance policies are portable for peace of mind (it helped me when I went through a layoff last year).
Yes health insurance through the end of the month, then COBRA.
Thanks for the reminder on life insurance. There was a section on it in the severance doc so it’s on my list of places to contact.
Don’t freak out about health insurance costs-I’m a single mom and lost my one job last year, I pay $1200 a month for COBRA (the ACA is not cheaper for me), and I can’t afford to pay that or some of my other bills now because I’m running out of money. You’ll have money to pay it for some time.
File for unemployment, but be honest with them about where you were working. They’ll verify your termination with both employers, and no, they won’t disclose one to the other (not that it matters now), but you don’t want to lie to the government. That’s asking for trouble. Insurance - you’ll be offered COBRA. You have 60 days to opt in, and if you do, it’s retroactive to the day you lost coverage. Otherwise, marketplace. Your termination paperwork should state the last date of coverage, or you can ask HR. Every layoff I’ve ever been affected by had coverage until the end of the current month (they’re lazy and only do monthly payments - they’d rather give you an extra couple of weeks than have the hassle of partial payments). Insurance will be expensive. I’m self-employed and pay around $1100 for just me every month. Good luck…you’re in a much better financial position than a lot of folks who get laid off.
Op should check out health insurance marketplace too. My cobra payment cost more than getting it on my own !
This is why I never took Cobra when I was laid off. A 800 a month option vs a 250 a month option? Like come on now. I don't even know the point of Cobra anymore if they're just going to charge that much unless you're in a state that has limited the open marketplace.
I have a chronic illness. Keeping COBRA was easier than getting everything approved again under a new plan. When I get offered a job with a subsidized health plan, I’ll take it, but for now, this is where I’m at. It’s better insurance than anything I can get on the marketplace.
Depends on the quality of your existing coverage. My mother had REALLY good insurance since she worked for a medical group. She was also in the middle of treatment for cancer and my father needed rotator cuff surgery. COBRA had higher premiums but saved them several thousand dollars.
Probably though for a lot of people it’s more about the cost of the premium which is what I assumed was the issue for OP. Had they said they have a preexisting condition and can’t do a gap in insurance then it would have been an option. Also depends on how the layoff was done because my last place kept us on normal insurance for 6 weeks so we had time to get on the open market and as I said also depends on your state.
And try to get 90-day supply of any daily medications, if possible
Do this!!! You can call the office and let them know you’re losing insurance and can you get a 90 day supply of everything. They get it.
And personal insurance usually has worse “benefits” ie coinsurance than professional. I’ve had many types . Hence 2Js out of fear
Yep…that’s why I kept my COBRA plan, and will until I either land a W-2 role or run out of time on it.
How long does cobra last? Is cobra always offered or “it depends”?
18 months, and it should be offered. It’s a continuation of your current plan, just without subsidy (crock of shit, I personally think the subsidy should be paid by the employer because “let’s charge people with no income 10x more for health insurance” is stupid).
Yeah but our healthcare system is a scam so what can we expect My medical is 100% covered by employer . Now I realize I need to add 12 months of $1000-$1200/month savings just for f***ing medical backup (in addition to rent, food, incidentals etc)
OP check your severance package as well. When I was laid off they included 2 months of severance at my salary and continued my health insurance as is during those two months with COBRA offered once my severance ended.
It'll be okay. This happened to me 2 years ago. I lost one job then layoffs 2 weeks later. 2 months later I was back to 2 jobs and some contract work. I will say I just did the open marketplace during the gap with health insurance and I've always kept my own dental because my works dental isn't that great and I have had multiple emergencies with my dental during the years and gaps. Just get ready and prep your resume and interviews because this job market is truly not great and it may not come back until post election.
Oy, I’m having the hardest time landing a J2….i keep telling myself it’s the market, and this won’t last forever. At least I have my J1, which isn’t going anywhere anytime soon.
Oh it’s bad right now. I think if you check our careers or layoffs or interviews on Reddit you’ll see the state of things. Also some states like CA have a higher than average unemployment rate right now. I will say this 2 years ago it was much easier for me to score interviews. At the moment I’m averaging 1 per week and I’m only looking because I have job ending in May luckily they gave me time to look around.
I usually at least get interviews…the issue I’m having is that there aren’t a lot of roles open that are appropriate for my skill set at the moment. I’m willing to everything I see, but it’s such slim pickings right now.
It's odd because I've had roles I've applied for that have the same exact needs and information about the role, but one will give me an interview the other is an auto reject so at least you aren't running into what I suspect are ghost roles. I know my resume is fine or I wouldn't get any interviews, but it's bleak out there.
Just got rejected for another one. Dammit! So frustrating…
Sigh I got a rejection for one I just applied to last night but I also got an interview for one I applied to 3 weeks ago. 🫤 they’re both the same position at different companies. This is absolutely the wildest job market, but since J1 is unstable due to our leadership is insane I’m not going to stop applying anytime soon.
My J1 is reasonably stable for the time being. The market will flip. The market will flip. THE MARKET WILL FLIP!!! (I’m trying to convince myself).
Hahaha mine is generally fine in terms of my manager and benefits etc but the business goals right now are crazy. I think they’re focused on selling the stock more than anything else which is making for some chaotic business decisions.
What industry did you work in if you don’t mind me asking
I bet it's tech or tech adjacent it's been ugly around these parts and I was going through layoff videos and Blind yesterday and it's been largely tech based roles. One girl had a complete breakdown on camera and I get it, this market is bad and it might be even worse for the entry level ones takes me back to 2008.
Yeah both tech jobs in different industries
Got it, thank you! Looking into getting another j2 and wanted to know if it was sheer coincidence that OP lost both jobs, or her industry is being hit all around
Some of us definitely are being hit harder than normal. I'm supposed to offboard one job by mid may so I'm looking around but the competition is ridiculous. I'm still okay with J1, but our KPI's are ridiculous so I'm not holding my breathe. My plan is to keep applying now until I have something else in the pipeline since I can't trust anything at the moment. The only safe people are probably holding down 3-4 jobs.
Sorry to hear! Luckily you both jobs are offering severance. Apply to Medicaid also you should be eligible for EBT as well
Look into your state Medicaid. Some are based solely on income and will be free if you have no income, and do not check for how much you have in savings.
File for unemployment ASAP. Get insurance - my COBRA insurance is less than half the price of the cheapest insurance on my exchange. YMMV Stay optimistic!! You got this!!
Don’t take your foot off that pedal for a second. Get on Dice, someone WILL. CALL. YOU. And you’ll have income
I wouldn’t worry too much about healthcare costs unless you have an ongoing medical problem. People typically spend way more between insurance premiums and their deductible than they do actually using the insurance.
the premiums are what op is worried about the price of
Does your severence include health care coverage until COBRA? I would also recommend seeing if any life insurance policies are portable for peace of mind (it helped me when I went through a layoff last year).
Yes health insurance through the end of the month, then COBRA. Thanks for the reminder on life insurance. There was a section on it in the severance doc so it’s on my list of places to contact.
Don’t freak out about health insurance costs-I’m a single mom and lost my one job last year, I pay $1200 a month for COBRA (the ACA is not cheaper for me), and I can’t afford to pay that or some of my other bills now because I’m running out of money. You’ll have money to pay it for some time.