Health Insurance Options for the Laid-off

About 500,000 working-age Californians lost their health insurance since the start of the recession a year and a half ago. Altogether, more than 12 million Californians had no coverage at some point last year. It pays to plan ahead for what you're going to do about health insurance if you're laid off. What are some of the available options? Guest: Sarah Varney, KQED health reporter.

• More: Children's Health Programs - listings of programs, with information on eligibility, cost and the application process.
• More: Medi-Cal - learn more about the public health insurance program and how to apply.
• More: Access for Infants and Mothers (AIM) - provides low cost health insurance coverage to uninsured, middle income pregnant women.
• More: The Healthy Families Program (HFP) - low-cost health, dental and vision coverage to uninsured children under 19, in working families.
• More: The Major Risk Medical Insurance Program (MRMIP) - insurance for those unable to obtain coverage because of pre-existing conditions.