Nearly 75 percent of people who lost their employer-sponsored health insurance when they lost their jobs over the last two years said that they skipped needed healthcare or did not fill prescriptions because of cost, according to a new Commonwealth Fund brief.
"Nearly three quarters of people reported they had a problem paying medical bills or were carrying medical debt," said Sara R. Collins, PhD, coauthor of the brief and vice president of the Commonwealth Fund, a private, New York City-based foundation. "People didn't access care that they needed because of the cost."
According to the Commonwealth Fund brief, an estimated 15 million working-age adults lost their jobs and health benefits from 2008 to 2010. A majority of these individuals (57 percent) became uninsured. One-quarter of adults were able to go on their spouse's insurance policy or find another source of coverage, while 14 percent continued their coverage through COBRA (Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act).
"This shows how vulnerable people are when they lose their jobs to also losing their health insurance. There are not affordable options outside of jobs," said Collins.
The Commonwealth Fund advocates for more intervention from the federal government. "To the extent that the jobless situation continues, hiring isn't at levels required to reduce unemployment. Reinstating COBRA subsidies to cover 65 percent of premiums would provide protection for those who have lost benefits," said Collins.
Other key findings:
• Over the period 2008 to 2010, an estimated 9 million adults ages 19 to 64 lost a job with health benefits and became uninsured.
• Eight percent of lower-income workers continued their coverage through COBRA after they were laid off, as opposed to 21 percent of workers with higher incomes.
• About one-half of surveyed adults who became uninsured after losing a job with benefits skipped a recommended medical treatment or follow-up test (52 percent), did not get specialist or other physician care when needed (50 percent), or did not fill a prescription (47 percent) in the past year, citing cost as the reason.
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