The current COVID-19 pandemic has already resulted in 36 million unemployment claims being filed in the United States, and unemployment is expected to continue to rise. The close connection of the employment status of Americans to their insurance coverage status will result in significant changes in terms of the insurance mix across the country and how beneficiaries access their healthcare. With the loss of employment, individuals may move from private, employer-sponsored commercial insurance to different types of coverage including Medicaid, COBRA, and Health Exchange. Accurately estimating this shift, and its downstream impact across different types of coverage channels, is further complicated by the heterogeneity of an individual’s economic and family status and related coverage.
