In communities with high rates of uninsured people, residents are much more likely to get the coronavirus and die from it than those in communities with fewer uninsured residents, according to a new Families USA report, "The Catastrophic Cost of Uninsurance: Covid-19 Cases and Deaths Closely Tied to America's Health Coverage Gaps."
Some top findings of the report:
- From the start of the pandemic through the end of August, every 10 percent increase in the proportion of a county's residents who lacked health insurance correlated with a 70% increase in coronavirus cases and a 48% increase in Covid-19 deaths.
- Nationwide, more than 40% of Covid-19 infections and about 30% of Covid-19 deaths are linked to health-insurance gaps.
- During the period studied, health-insurance gaps were linked to about 2.6 million Covid-19 cases and 58,000 Covid-19 deaths.
- If the same correlation between health insurance and Covid-19 remained unchanged until after the period covered in the study, then by Feb. 1, 2021, health-insurance gaps would be associated with an estimated 10.9 million Covid-19 infections and 143,000 Covid-19 deaths.
- In 2019, nearly 30 million Americans under age 65 were uninsured; that number has grown an estimated 15.3 million during the pandemic because of job losses.
- Non-white Americans were nearly twice as likely as white Americans to lose health insurance, and Latinos were three times as likely.
- All states saw an increase in Medicaid enrollment during the pandemic.
- In 11 states, Covid-19 cases linked to health-insurance gaps comprised at least 50% of the state's total Covid-19 infections during the period studied.
- In 10 states, health-insurance gaps were linked to at least 40% of the state's Covid-19 deaths.
- Texas, Florida, Oklahoma, and Georgia led both lists, in order from highest percentage to lowest.
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