The number of uninsured people in America is set to increase as COVID-19 leads to higher unemployment levels, according to an analysis from left-leaning think tank the Urban Institute.
For the analysis, which was funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, researchers compared health insurance coverage for adults who were unemployed and those who had jobs during three periods: the Great Recession and high unemployment (2008-10), the economic recovery (2011-13) and implementation of the ACA's major insurance provisions (2014-18).
The researchers found 46 percent of unemployed people didn't have health insurance in 2011-13. That percentage fell to 29.8 percent after implementation of the ACA and economic improvements. The uninsured rate was lower in states that expanded Medicaid under the ACA.
"The ACA created an important safety net, so that losing your job doesn't mean you have to lose your coverage," said Kathy Hempstead, senior policy adviser at the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. "In these very challenging times we need to pull out all the stops and use every policy tool at our disposal to keep people connected to coverage even as millions will likely lose their jobs and become uninsured."
View the full analysis here.