Although some casinos are back open under Michigan’s current COVID-19 shutdown restrictions, Detroit casinos remain closed. These highly populated casinos remain closed for the health and safety of Michiganders in their community, however the continued shutdowns have affected thousands of casino workers who have been furloughed.
With the unemployment benefits under the CARES Act pandemic relief package expiring, casino employees will stop receiving additional benefits, including their health insurance benefits. This leaves over 2,000 furloughed workers at risk of being without health insurance during a pandemic.
COBRA coverage, A healthcare.gov plan, Medicaid or joining a spouse’s insurance are the four options available to keep coverage. However, for some these options are unaffordable without the added $600 unemployment benefit, or aren’t available based on their household income.
Samantha Lovan, a senior analyst at the Center for Health and Research Transformation in Ann Arbor weighed in on the options provided sharing, “COBRA is an option, but most of the time it’s not affordable to people because the cost of paying the employer’s share is so high.”
Increasing daily COVID-19 numbers have contributed to Detroit casinos remaining closed past the original goal open date of July 4th.
To learn more about how the healthcare of furloughed Detroit casino workers has been affected by COVID-19 shutdowns, head to the Detroit Free Press here.
