ACA signups soar as many Americans continue to lose their job coverage due to COVID-19 according to a study done by Kaiser Family Foundation. Those who have lost their Employer-sponsored insurance can continue it for a period by paying the full premium or may become eligible for Medicaid or subsidized coverage through the marketplace.

ACA Signups Rise As Job Coverage Loss Continues

Almost 27 million people have lost or will lose in the upcoming months their ESI insurance due to COVID-19. Of those who have lost their insurance about 12.7 million will be eligible for Medicaid with another 8.4 million eligible for subsidies. A portion of those who lose their ESI would be able to keep it by switching to a family member’s plan around 19 million, while about 1.6 million had another source of insurance to keep them afloat.

Larger States See Greater Needs

Though the number of those who will be able to have coverage in some sort, another portion will not. Larger states who have higher rates of job loss will begin to see the brunt of insurance loss. States put into this category are California, Texas, Pennsylvania, New York, Georgia, Florida, Michigan, and Ohio who account for just under half of all who have lost insurance. States such as Georgia, Texas, and Florida, have no expanded Medicaid and can expect to see non-elderly adults move into Medicaid coverage gap by 2021.

New Year High For SEP

“As policymakers consider additional efforts to aid people, expanding outreach and enrollment assistance, which have been reduced dramatically by the Trump Administration, could help people maintain coverage as they lose jobs,” KFF researchers wrote. As of April, Kaiser noted that we saw the biggest jump in enrollment following job loss at a 139% increase compared to April of last year. Around 500,000 out of work consumers enrolled in coverage so far. In a number that has surpassed the last 4 years, special enrollment period sign-ups garnered more than 890,000 enrollees.

Kaiser believes that if the trend continues, we could see a shift in health insurance. Many of the largest insurers are beginning to brace for the shift that could take place later this year.

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