A new study from the Urban Institute finds that 43 million Americans could lose their employer-sponsored health insurance because of COVID-19-related job losses. Despite that, House Republicans are still fighting in court to repeal the Affordable Care Act.
The Urban Institute study found that the ACA’s Medicaid expansion and health insurance marketplace would be crucial to helping the newly uninsured find coverage.
The study comes as President Trump promises to “terminate health care” by doubling down on the House Republican-backed lawsuit to eliminate the ACA and allow insurance companies to discriminate against Americans battling COVID-19.
That might be why some Republicans are starting to get cold feet about their party’s dogged attempts in Washington to eliminate health care. On Sunday, the Republican Chairman of the Senate HELP Committee voiced second thoughts about the lawsuit. Last week, Attorney General Barr warned that the lawsuit would hurt Republicans in November.
Statement From DCCC Spokesperson Robyn Patterson
“The unemployment rate is at its highest rate since the Great Depression. But if House Republicans have their way it will be even harder for jobless Americans to get health insurance. If Republicans win their lawsuit, millions of unemployed Americans will lose their health coverage during a deadly pandemic.”
Key Points From Newsweek’s Story On The New Study
43 MILLION AMERICANS IN DANGER OF LOSING HEALTH INSURANCE AS A RESULT OF CORONAVIRUS CRISIS, STUDY SHOWS
Jason Lemon
- As many as 43 million Americans are in danger of losing their current health insurance as unemployment surges amid the novel coronavirus pandemic, a new study has shown.
- The Urban Institute’s Health Policy Center, an economic and social policy think tank, published a study last week on how the economic recession caused by COVID-19 could affect the health insurance coverage of Americans. The analysis found that between 25 million and 43 million Americans are at risk of losing, or have already lost, their health insurance, which is often tied directly to an individual’s employer.
- Although the analysis noted that some Americans would be able to apply for Medicaid in states that have expanded the Affordable Care Act (ACA), known commonly as Obamacare, while others would purchase other private insurance, it estimated that many would be unable to access coverage. The study went on to project how high the number of uninsured Americans will rise.
- “With 20 percent unemployment, we estimate that 25 million people would lose employer- sponsored health insurance. Of these, 11.8 million would gain Medicaid coverage, 6.2 million would gain marketplace or other private coverage, and 7.3 million would become uninsured,” the analysis projected.
- However, based on a range of factors, the analysis additionally projected that 20 percent unemployment could potentially lead to 43 million people losing insurance through their employers. Under that scenario, the analysis projects that 12.1 million would not be able to access Medicaid or enroll in insurance through the ACA.
- On Friday, the Department of Labor reported that the official unemployment rate rose to 14.7 percent in April, with more than 20 million jobs lost in the month. However, more than 30 million Americans have already applied for unemployment since mid-March, when lockdown measures to curb the spread of the novel coronavirus went into place throughout the country. Economists also expect the jobless numbers to continue to rise throughout May.
- “We want to terminate health care for — under Obamacare because it’s bad, and we’re replacing it with a great health care at far less money and it includes pre-existing conditions,” the president said last week. However, the White House has not yet released a plan to replace the ACA.
###