Employer-Sponsored Coverage Stabilized And Uninsurance Declined In The Second Year Of The COVID-19 Pandemic.

The health risks of COVID-19, combined with widespread economic instability in the US, spurred Congress to pass temporary measures to improve access to health insurance. Using data from the Household Pulse Survey, a high-frequency, population-based survey, we examined trends in health coverage during 2021 and early 2022 among nonelderly adults. We estimated that eight million people gained coverage during this period, primarily because of increases in Medicaid and other public coverage. Despite rising employment, rates of employer-sponsored coverage remained flat. In Medicaid expansion states, employment rates increased significantly among Medicaid enrollees. Our results suggest that when the public health emergency ends, many people currently enrolled in Medicaid might no longer be eligible, particularly in Medicaid expansion states. Policy makers and employers should be prepared to help people who lose Medicaid eligibility identify and navigate enrollment in alternative sources of health insurance, including both Affordable Care Act Marketplace and employer-sponsored coverage.

Duke Scholars

Author M. Kate Bundorf Sanford School of Public Policy