Nearly 8 million workers lost employer-sponsored insurance during pandemic
Nearly seven million dependents were also affected by the loss of employer-sponsored insurance.
As many as 7.7 million U.S. workers have lost jobs that provided employer-sponsored insurance because of COVID-19. Nearly seven million dependents also were covered by employer-sponsored insurance through these jobs, and manufacturing workers were most affected.
The impact of the pandemic on employer-sponsored insurance is documented in a new study, “How Many Americans Have Lost Jobs with Employer Health Coverage During the Pandemic?” from the Employee Benefit Research Institute, The W.E. Upjohn Institute for Employment Research and the Commonwealth Fund. The research underscores the critical link between employment and insurance coverage for many Americans, said Sara Collins, Commonwealth Fund vice president for health care coverage, access and tracking.
Related: 10 million Americans expected to lose employer-sponsored insurance this year
“This study illustrates how the country’s predominantly job-based health insurance system leaves workers and their families at risk of losing coverage during a severe economic downturn,” she said. “Unlike prior recessions, the reforms of the Affordable Care Act are a safety net for many who lose coverage. But the law is now at risk of repeal before the Supreme Court, just when Americans need it most.”
The unemployment rate peaked in April at 14.7%. During the 15 weeks from mid-March to the end of June, Americans filed nearly 49 million new claims for unemployment benefits. Pandemic-related lockdowns affected some industries and groups of workers more severely than others. Total job losses in manufacturing were roughly proportional to employment; manufacturing accounted for 10% of pre-pandemic employment and 12% of unemployed workers in June. But because manufacturing has one of the highest rates of employer-sponsored insurance coverage at 66%, it accounted for a greater proportion of loss of jobs with insurance.
“Demographics also play an important role,” said Paul Fronstin, director of EBRI’s Health Research and Education Program. “Workers ages 35 to 44 and 45 to 54 bore the brunt of employer-sponsored insurance-covered job losses, in large part because workers in these age groups were the most likely to be covering spouses and other dependents. The adverse effects of the pandemic recession also fell disproportionately on women. Although women made up 47% of pre-pandemic employment, they accounted for 55% of total job losses.”
Only time will tell how many job losses are ultimately permanent and result in loss of insurance, said Stephen Woodbury, Upjohn Institute senior economist and co-author of the report.
“In the interim, it will be important to monitor key labor market statistics, including the number of workers on furlough or temporary layoff who become permanent job losers, and the number of job losers who have been unemployed for 15 weeks or more and are unlikely to be attached to an employer and covered by ESI,” he said.
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