…an estimated 48 million nonelderly people will live in families with a member experiencing job loss related to COVID-19, with 10.1 million losing health insurance tied to loss of employment. Of those 10.1 million people, researchers estimate: 32 percent (3.3 million) will gain insurance coverage through a family member; 28 percent (2.8 million) will enroll in Medicaid and CHIP; 6…
…different industries, as do rates of uninsurance (exhibit 1). In addition, sizable percentages of essential workers with ESI obtain that coverage not through their own employer but through a family member’s employer (exhibit 2). Thus, those workers are just a recession-related job loss away from losing the coverage they have. Exhibit 1: Nonelderly workers in essential industries with employer-sponsored insurance…
…authors point out that as the recession continues and layoffs spread to other sectors such as state and local governments, the loss of employer-sponsored insurance is likely to grow. Another set of transitions, of course, is between public sources of coverage. Children whose families are losing income may move from CHIP to Medicaid – many states have been seeing this…
…loss of MEC SEP enrollments increasing by 139 percent compared to April 2019. Compared to 2019, overall SEP enrollments in 2020 from the end of Open Enrollment through May are up by 27 percent. Loss of MEC SEP enrollments account for 82 percent of the increase. Why It Matters The ACA’s marketplaces are a critical source of coverage for people…
…to offer on the marketplaces, regulators in most states permitted insurers to make last minute changes to premiums to make up for the expected losses. Given the uncertainties associated with the coronavirus pandemic, state and federal regulators could give insurers similar flexibility this year. What are Insurers Saying about COVID-19 Costs? In these early filings, most insurers are not –…
…Enrollment Barriers The COVID-19 pandemic and related economic shutdown have caused a surge in unemployment, income reductions, and insurance losses. The pandemic struck at a time when marketplace enrollment is usually restricted to a small set of circumstances that trigger “special enrollment periods” (SEP), including the loss of employer-based coverage. In response to the public health emergency, the Centers for…
…refuse the terms and conditions and thus not receive funds. Participation is hard to predict and could vary according to their payer mix, loss of elective patients, or number of COVID-19 patients. It is also unclear how patients will be able to know if a provider treating them has agreed not to send balance bills. Indications from HHS are that…
…of insured Americans under 65 have job-based health coverage, researchers at the Commonwealth Fund and SSRS conducted a survey to study how recent job loss has impacted access to health insurance. What It Finds Forty-one percent of respondents dealing with job insecurity, including job loss, pay cuts, and lost hours, reported either losing insurance, being worried about losing insurance, or…
As COVID-19 cases climb, social distancing – the best tool we have to bring the virus to heel – has wrought an unprecedented loss of jobs, income, and health coverage. Over the coming months, the uninsured rate is expected to skyrocket. In the midst of the public health and financial crises spurred by the novel coronavirus, the Affordable Care Act…
…application. Please keep in mind that as state and federal policy changes during this unprecedented moment, the answers to your questions may change. It is always best to check with your state Marketplace to confirm your options. If you’ve experienced a sudden drop in income due to loss of work hours or loss of employment and want to know if…
The opinions expressed here are solely those of the individual blog post authors and do not represent the views of Georgetown University, the Center on Health Insurance Reforms, any organization that the author is affiliated with, or the opinions of any other author who publishes on this blog.
