Health Coverage in a Period of Rising Unemployment

Publication Date: December 2008

Publisher: Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation

Author(s):

Research Area: Health

Keywords: Insurance; COBRA; unemployment

Type: Brief

Coverage: United States

Abstract:

This policy brief reviews the public and private options available to help people maintain coverage if they become unemployed during a downturn and cannot get employer-sponsored coverage through a spouse. Specifically, it examines COBRA, non-group insurance and Medicaid. And it explains why, despite such options, more people will become uninsured as unemployment rises. Recent analysis predicts that each 1 percentage point increase in unemployment will lead to 1.1 million more uninsured adults.