Record 5.4 million Americans have lost their health insurance during the pandemic, study finds, amid unprecedented job losses
A record number of Americans lost their health insurance during the coronavirus pandemic, with 5.4 million more Americans finding themselves uninsured between February and May, a study has found.
Unprecedented job losses have caused the mass loss of coverage, with more people losing their health insurance during the time period than they ever had in a previous single year, according to the study from consumer advocacy group Families U.S.A.
The data resulting from the study is likely to inform the on-going debate in Congress over the next round of virus relief funds, and comes during campaign season when the Affordable Care Act is a key campaign issue for both President Trump and Democratic candidate Joe Biden.
The group said that this increase in the number of uninsured adults is 39 percent higher than any annual increase ever previously recorded, with the last record standing at 3.9 million losses taking place between 2008 and 2009.
Unprecedented job losses has caused a record number of Americans to lose their health coverage during the Dovid-19 pandemic. Above, Hundreds of unemployed Kentucky residents wait in long lines outside the Kentucky Career Center for help with their unemployment claims on June 19, 2020 in Frankfort, Kentucky
'We knew these numbers would be big,' said author of the study Stan Dorn, who directs the group's National Center for Coverage Innovation according to the New York Times.
'This is the worst economic downturn since World War II. It dwarfs the Great Recession. So it's not surprising that we would also see the worst increase in the uninsured.'
At the end of June, The New York Times reported that around 30 million Americans were receiving government financial assistance.
According to the publication, 19.5 million people are on unemployment benefits, while 'over 11 million individuals are receiving federal Pandemic Unemployment Assistance as of June 6'.
Above, streets are pictured empty and businesses shuttered in Jersey City in April after lockdowns were implemented to slow the spread of coronavirus. Resulting job losses across the country meant that around 5.4 million people have lost health coverage between February and May
Dorn's study examined the effects of the pandemic on laid-off adults under the age of 65, which is the age that U.S. citizens become eligible for Medicare.
The data shows that 46 percent of the coverage losses resulting from the pandemic came in five states - New York, California, Texas, Florida and North Carolina - the first four also being the states that have seen the highest number of Covid-19 cases.
In Texas alone, the number of uninsured people increased by roughly 700,000 people - from 4.2 million to 4.9 million - leaving three our of every 10 Texans without coverage, the research found.
'These record-breaking increases in the number of uninsured have taken place during the country's worst public-health crisis in more than a century and the sharpest and deepest economic downturn since World War II,' a statement from Families U.S.A said when giving an overview of the findings.
Data from the study by advocacy group Families U.S.A. shows that 46 percent of the coverage losses resulting from the pandemic came in five states - New York, California, Texas, Florida and North Carolina. Above, shops in New York's China town pictured closed in May
'Nevertheless, no federal COVID-19 legislation signed into law has attempted to restore or preserve comprehensive health insurance. Now is the time to fill that gap by including protections for comprehensive health insurance in the next COVID-19 bill,' the statement read.
The full study is set to be released later on Tuesday.
The 37 states that expanded Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act saw 23 percent of laid-off workers lose their insurance.
In contrast, in the 13 states that did not expand medicaid saw 43 percent of laid off workers become insured - including in Texas, Florida and North Carolina - almost double the number in those who chose to expand.
The study comes in the midst of campaign season ahead of the November general election which will see President Trump and the Republican party - who are working to repeal the Affordable Care Act - face off against Joe Biden and the Democrats, who are seeing to expand the law.
Former Vice President and Presidential hopeful Joe Biden - pictured above speaking to families who have benefited from the Affordable Care Act - and the Democrats are seeing to expand the law, while current president Trump and the Republican are seeking to repeal it. The law was brought in during Barack Obama's presidential tenure
Trump's administration has even asked the Supreme Court to overturn the law - colloquially known as Obamacare - which is seen as former President Barack Obama's crowning achievement during his tenure.
The complete data of how many people across the U.S. lost coverage in 2020 will not be available until mid-2021, however Dorn said that 'policymakers need to know now what the approximate magnitude is of insurance losses to decide what they need to do.
'This is our best estimate for what the actual coverage losses have been.'
