The unemployed have few options for obtaining health coverage. Some people opt to purchase an individual health insurance policy while others may qualify for coverage under the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act if they experienced a job loss.

Given the high volume of people being laid off and who have been out of work for extended periods of time, COBRA subsidies have been made available by the government to help cover costs. Data from research institute EBRI says that not as many people benefited from the subsidies as initially thought.

EBRI health research and education program director Paul Fronstin says it's difficult to gage how many have taken advantage of the subsidy offering.

"The COBRA subsidies that became available in April 2009 do appear to have had an impact on the percentage of nonworkers with coverage through a former employer," says Fronstin. "But they appear to have assisted far fewer than the originally estimated seven million individuals."

A number of Americans continue to struggle to find work. Data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics says the unemployment rate is nearly 10 percent, where it has been for the past year.