“The good news is that if you lose your employer-provided coverage, which covers about a 180 million Americans, that is a significant life event, which makes you then eligible to sign up for the Affordable Care Act,†Cornyn said in a PBS Austin interview.
To get covered, Americans will have to navigate the country’s fragmented health care system ― there’s the ACA, known as Obamacare, public options like Medicaid, and COBRA, the federal program that lets individuals continue their former employer’s health care plan at personal cost.
The Kaiser Family Foundation estimates there are 5.7 million people who are not eligible for financial subsidies under Obamacare, and who would have to pay for the entirety of their private insurance plan.
And not all Americans will qualify for Medicaid, the public health program for low-income Americans. .
“Unlike in past recessions, most of those who lose their job-based coverage will be eligible for health coverage because of the Affordable Care Act, though some may find coverage unaffordable even with subsidies,†Larry Levitt, who runs health policy at KFF, said in a statement.
A 2019 report on Medicaid expansion found there could have been 15,600 fewer deaths if all 50 states expanded Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act.
There’s a growing body of research that has shown expanded public insurance has improved health outcomes, increasing preventative care and saving patients with chronic illnesses, like kidney disease. .
If you’re caught in an insurance trap, where COBRA is too expensive, you live in a state that didn’t expand Medicaid, and aren’t eligible for subsidized private insurance through Obamacare, what happens when you need to go to the ER, Miller asked rhetorically: “You lose your labor market income and you can potentially face some financial hits if you need necessary medical care — you go to the ER — that can have an impact on your credit score.â€.
But among the ideas Republicans have put forward, like expanding the PPP program, implementing tax credits for hiring workers or bonuses for rehired workers, health care has largely been left out of the emergency relief debate.
House Democrats’ latest relief package included several health care provisions, expanding how much the federal government chips in on Medicaid payments, and subsidizing COBRA at 100%