Insurance

Over 5m Americans lost health coverage amid pandemic

By Ranamita Chakraborty

The number of adults in the US without health insurance rose by 5.4m in the first three months after the first COVID-19 diagnosis in the country, according to a new report.

“Families in America are losing comprehensive health insurance in record numbers. This creates particularly serious dangers during a grave public health crisis and deep economic downturn,” said non-profit consumer advocacy group Families USA which authored the report.

With health insurance coverage being largely tied to employment, the economic crash resulting from the pandemic had led to 18m workers being unemployed as of June 2020, thus leaving a large proportion of them uninsured.

This lack of health insurance is said to be the largest coverage loss in American history, resulting in more than one in seven adults in the US (16%) now uninsured following three months of COVID-driven unemployment.

Families USA finds this particularly problematic during a pandemic involving a highly infectious and deadly disease, especially in states that are allowing residents to be in closer personal contact by attempting to reopen their economies.

However, no federal COVID-19 legislation signed into law has attempted to restore or preserve comprehensive health insurance which improves health outcomes, limits financial insecurity, and promotes economic recovery.

Therefore, the report from Families USA points out that federal lawmakers can fill that gap in the next COVID-19 bill.

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