To the editor:

While the passage of Health Care Reform in the House is historic and we need to thank our local representatives for their support, the job is not finished. Part of the problem is those of us that are out of work need health care now, not months from now. The COBRA provision in the ARRA bill needs to be extended before the end of the year so that those of us that are out of work can stay insured until jobs are available with health insurance.

It’s sad that Congress thinks you can afford $1,039 per month for COBRA when not working or as in my case pay $1,504 per month for private health insurance due to my age. Congress needs to help us now because no matter what comes out of Congress over the next weeks or months will not help us now!