Nearly 12 Million People Lost Employer-Sponsored Insurance Amid Pandemic

It is no surprise that many Americans lost access to health insurance throughout the pandemic, but new data shows that nearly 12 million people have been cut off from employee-sponsored plans.

More than 6.2 million Americans have lost their jobs due to COVID-19. A paper published by the Economic Policy Institute (EPI) shows that for each who is covered under their own employer’s plan, roughly two people on average are covered through employer-sponsored insurance (ESI) once spouses and dependents are included, amounting for close to 12 million people.

“Tying health insurance to the labor market is always terribly inefficient and problematic but becomes particularly so during times of great labor market churn,” said EPI Director of Research Josh Bivens.

Mr Bivens and economist Ben Zipperer explain in the report that people who have lost ESI do not necessarily lose all access to health insurance coverage. Many could purchase continuation of benefits coverage or be picked up by family/spouse plans.

Throughout the last several months, many Americans have turned to public health insurance programs. However, these programs—Medicaid, being the most prevalent—have not expanded enough to cover all those who have lost coverage, despite rolling more than 4 million members since COVID-19 began.

The authors point out the dangers of connecting health insurance to specific jobs and suggest the United States consider shifting to a single payer plan through small intermediate steps. They added, “Policymakers could also require that employers either provide comprehensive and affordable insurance or pay a fee to help cover the costs of enrolling their workers in the public option.”

“The coronavirus pandemic has exposed how incomplete and threadbare the US safety net and social insurance system is,” said Mr Zipperer. “In order to help millions of Americans during the pandemic and beyond, policymakers must take swift action to address the inequities and inefficiencies in our health care system.” —Edan Stanley