Since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Economic Policy Institute estimates 6.2 million workers have lost access to employer-sponsored health insurance based on an analysis of the Current Employment Statistics from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The institute said given that in most cases roughly two people are covered under an employer-sponsored plan, it’s likely closer to 12 million people have lost employer-sponsored insurance during the pandemic.
The EPI identified Medicaid as the most dominant source of alternative coverage for those who lost insurance. EPI researchers estimate Medicaid rolls have likely expanded by more than 4 million during the economic aftershocks of the pandemic.
“The shock has laid bare the huge uncertainty that employer-linked health insurance introduces into U.S. families’ lives,” the researchers said. “Even in normal times millions of U.S. households must manage coverage transitions in a given month. During economic crises, these coverage changes increasingly include transitioning into uninsured status, which puts families’ health and financial security at risk.”
Read the full report here.
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