How Many People Lost Their Health Insurance From Covid In Each State

Nearly 40 million workers lost their job due to Covid.

While some of those jobs are slowly returning, some may be gone for good. Other jobs are still being cut, with furloughed workers discovering their job loss isn’t so temporary after all.

While the CARES ACT provided much needed financial relief, many workers found themselves suddenly, and abruptly, without health insurance.

The average annual Cobra family premium of $1,595 was simply out of reach for many.

The numbers are finally in, showing that as of May over 5,359,000 workers lost their employer provided health insurance. However, some states were hit harder than others.

We compiled the total number of newly uninsured in each state, the percent increase of uninsured, and the percent of total uninsured in each state currently.

You can jump to the full list, or keep reading to see the states hardest hit.

The 10 States With The Largest Increase In Uninsured

Northeastern states saw the largest increase in uninsured residents, with Massachusetts leading the pack. The Bay State saw an astounding 93% increase in uninsured adults as a result of Covid job losses. All states in the top ten saw over a 30% increase.

How We Determined This

Our data comes from Families USA, a non profit organization.

Three figures for each state are displayed throughout this article:

Increase in Uninsured Adults
Uninsured In May 2020
Number Of Newly Uninsured

To determine the increase in uninsured adults, the state level increase in unemployment and coverage estimates were extrapolated to estimate the insurance drop in each state. This number was then compared to the 2018 ACS uninsured rate, the most recent data available.

These numbers are only for February to May and do not include workers who lost their insurance after May. That means any workers who lost their job and insurance June 1st and onward aren’t included. The same goes for workers who found out “furloughed” was really “fired.” Similarly, these results do not take into account dependents who lost insurance when the main benefactor lost their insurance.

Here is a highlight of the 10 states that saw the largest increase. You can also jump to the bottom to see every state’s standing.

1. Massachusetts

Increase in Uninsured Adults: 93%
Uninsured In May 2020: 8%
Number Of Newly Uninsured:159,000

2. Hawaii

Increase in Uninsured Adults: 72%
Uninsured In May 2020: 10%
Number Of Newly Uninsured:34,000

3. Rhode Island

Increase in Uninsured Adults: 55%
Uninsured In May 2020: 9%
Number Of Newly Uninsured:21,000

4. Michigan

Increase in Uninsured Adults: 46%
Uninsured In May 2020: 12%
Number Of Newly Uninsured:222,000

5. New Hampshire

Increase in Uninsured Adults: 43%
Uninsured In May 2020: 11%
Number Of Newly Uninsured:29,000

6. Vermont

Increase in Uninsured Adults: 36%
Uninsured In May 2020: 7%
Number Of Newly Uninsured:7,000

7. Nevada

Increase in Uninsured Adults: 34%
Uninsured In May 2020: 21%
Number Of Newly Uninsured:97,000

8. Delaware

Increase in Uninsured Adults: 33%
Uninsured In May 2020: 11%
Number Of Newly Uninsured:16,000

9. New York

Increase in Uninsured Adults: 32%
Uninsured In May 2020: 10%
Number Of Newly Uninsured:298,000

10. Connecticut

Increase in Uninsured Adults: 30%
Uninsured In May 2020: 10%
Number Of Newly Uninsured:49,000

Over 5.3 Million Workers Lost Their Insurance In A Pandemic

5.3 million workers are now in a more vulnerable position when it comes to healthcare. Not only are they at greater risk of delaying Covid treatment, medical care for ongoing, preexisting conditions may be beyond their reach.

While the 10 states we examined above saw the largest increase in uninsured adults, many states not covered have shockingly high uninsured rates in the best of times.

In eight states, 1-in-5 adults are no insured. Texas (29%), Florida (25%), Oklahoma (24%), Georgia (23%), Mississippi (22%), Nevada (21%), North Carolina (20%), and South Carolina (20%) all have more than 20% of their adult residents without insurance. Unfortunately, the majority of these states are currently experiencing a surge in Covid cases.

Under the current American system where benefits are tied to employer, economic down turns will always be coupled with declining insurance rates.

How much the uninsured increased due to covid in each state?

Rank	State	Increase In Uninsured Adults	Uninsured In May 2020	Number Of Newly Uninsured
1	Massachusetts	93%	8%	159,000
2	Hawaii	72%	10%	34,000
3	Rhode Island	55%	9%	21,000
4	Michigan	46%	12%	222,000
5	New Hampshire	43%	11%	29,000
6	Vermont	36%	7%	7,000
7	Nevada	34%	21%	97,000
8	Delaware	33%	11%	16,000
9	New York	32%	10%	298,000
10	Connecticut	30%	10%	49,000
11	Iowa	29%	9%	38,000
12	Minnesota	28%	8%	56,000
13	California	27%	13%	689,000
14	Florida	24%	25%	607,000
15	North Carolina	24%	20%	238,000
16	Maryland	24%	11%	75,000
17	Washington	23%	12%	103,000
18	Illinois	23%	13%	186,000
19	Wisconsin	22%	10%	62,000
20	Pennsylvania	22%	10%	137,000
21	Ohio	21%	11%	139,000
22	New Jersey	21%	13%	124,000
23	South Carolina	20%	20%	99,000
24	Kansas	20%	15%	43,000
25	Colorado	20%	13%	74,000
26	Missouri	19%	17%	100,000
27	Tennessee	19%	19%	122,000
28	Oregon	18%	13%	50,000
29	South Dakota	18%	16%	12,000
30	Kentucky	18%	10%	40,000
31	Indiana	17%	13%	79,000
32	West Virginia	17%	12%	18,000
33	Oklahoma	16%	24%	77,000
34	Maine	16%	13%	14,000
35	Texas	15%	29%	659,000
36	North Dakota	15%	11%	7,000
37	Alabama	14%	19%	69,000
38	Virginia	14%	14%	90,000
39	Georgia	14%	23%	178,000
40	Louisiana	14%	14%	48,000
41	Wyoming	12%	17%	6,000
42	Montana	12%	13%	9,000
43	Utah	12%	13%	25,000
44	New Mexico	11%	16%	18,000
45	Mississippi	11%	22%	37,000
46	Alaska	10%	17%	7,000
47	Arkansas	10%	15%	22,000
48	Idaho	8%	18%	14,000
49	Arizona	7%	17%	47,000
50	Nebraska	7%	12%	9,000

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Author

Kathy Morris

Kathy is the head of content at Zippia with a knack for engaging audiences. Prior to joining Zippia, Kathy worked at Gateway Blend growing audiences across diverse brands. She graduated from Troy University with a degree in Social Science Education.

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