We’re finding out another problem caused by the coronavirus…..millions are losing their health insurance.
Roughly 5.4 million adults in the U.S. lost their health insurance from February to May after losing their jobs, according to a new estimate from Families USA, a group that favors the Affordable Care Act.
There are more adults under 65 without insurance in Southern states which are the same states setting new records for single-day coronavirus infections along with rising hospitalizations.
3.9 million adults lost health insurance over one year during the Great Recession, per Families USA’s analysis. It only took four months in this current crisis for an estimated 5.4 million Americans to lose health insurance.
Here’s more from the study’s findings — 21 million Americans were unemployed in May, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ nonfarm payrolls report.
Many of the Southern states that are experiencing a significant surge in coronavirus infections “stepped on the gas” while lifting lockdown restrictions, according to a White House coronavirus task force.
And the New York Times reports that definitive data on how many Americans have lost health coverage will not be available from the federal government until mid-2021 or later that year.
On the bright side, as the economy starts up again….4.8 million jobs were added in June.