
States Facing COVID-19 Spikes Report Greatest Health Insurance Coverage Losses
States currently facing a surge of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) cases also report the greatest increases in residents who lost health insurance due to the pandemic, according to an analysis published by Families USA.
Job losses between February and May 2020 due to the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic resulted in 5.4 million Americans losing their health insurance, according to a recent
The
Current numbers show that across the country 16% of US adults, or 1 in 7, lack health care insurance. However, complete 2020 data will not become available until 2021, after the federal government publishes its health insurance estimates for the previous year.
Researchers used data from the
Authors note legislation making a serious effort to protect comprehensive health insurance in the wake of the pandemic has yet to be signed into law. “Policymakers need to know now about the magnitude of coverage losses as they decide whether and, if so, how the next COVID-19 legislation will restore and maintain comprehensive health insurance,” they write.
As of May 2020, the states with the greatest percentage of nonelderly adults currently uninsured include Texas (29%), Florida (25%), Nevada (21%), Oklahoma (24%), Mississippi (22%), Georgia (23%), South Carolina (20%), and North Carolina (20%). Nearly half (46%) of the increases in the uninsured occurred in just 5 states: California, Texas, Florida, New York, and North Carolina.
In addition,
“We knew these numbers would be big,”
However, the data only accounted for individuals who lost insurance as a result of job loss and excluded any family members previously covered by the plans.
The 5 states that experienced increases in the number of uninsured adults greater than 40% include Massachusetts, where the number nearly doubled, rising by 93%; Hawaii (72%); Rhode Island (55%); Michigan (46%); and New Hampshire (43%).
Of all the newly uninsured individuals, the majority (63%) live in 10 states: California, Texas, Florida, New York, North Carolina, Michigan, Illinois, Georgia, Massachusetts, and Ohio.
When it comes to
Financial
In addition, in June, the Trump administration and Republican state attorneys general
“President Trump and the Republicans’ campaign to rip away the protections and benefits of the Affordable Care Act in the middle of the coronavirus crisis is an act of unfathomable cruelty,”
As the health insurance law is expected to be a contested topic in the 2020 presidential election, the Supreme Court is likely to hear the case
Authors stress high rates of individuals without health insurance “is particularly problematic during a pandemic involving a highly infectious, deadly disease, especially in states that are allowing residents to be in closer personal contact by attempting to reopen their economies — often the same states that are now experiencing significant spikes in COVID-19 infection rates.”
Any delays in diagnosis and treatment resulting from lack of insurance could endanger both the individuals and their communities. Conditions such as cancer and heart disease “are more likely to worsen until hospitalization is required or treatment becomes ineffective,” authors write. They continue, “losing health insurance thus makes permanent health problems — and even early death — significantly more likely for conditions unrelated to COVID-19.”
Some families may be faced with the decision of paying for essential medical care out of pocket or meeting other basic human needs.
Two
To address these coverage losses, authors urge Congress to protect comprehensive health insurance coverage, arguing the next economic aid
- Full COBRA subsidies
- Increased premium tax credits for low- and moderate-income consumers
- $600 million in annual funding for consumer assistance
- A special enrollment period that lets uninsured families quickly obtain private health coverage through the federal health insurance exchange
- A substantial boost to federal matching funds for state Medicaid programs, with accompanying guardrails to maintain coverage
Encouraging the president to better promote the special enrollment period provision of the ACA, and to aid laid-off workers in maintaining their coverage through COBRA, Senator Patty Murray, D-Washington,
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