There are statistics, and then there are scary statistics. The Center for American Progress estimates that 1.3 million Americans have lost their health coverage in the last 4 months.
We estimate that 2.4 million workers have lost the health coverage their jobs provided since the start of the recession, based on data from the U.S. Census Bureau and the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Approximately, 1.3 million of these losses have occurred in the last four months. More than 320,000 Americans lost their employer-provided health insurance in March alone, which amounts to approximately 10,680 workers a day.
10,680 workers a day. Wow. Scarier still, the sectors where jobs are being shed. Not only in the traditional areas, like manufacturing and retail, but an astounding 594,000 in the professional and business services sector alone. That’s a huge number, exceeding the number lost in the durable manufacturing sector. If the number doesn’t boggle your mind, this chart should:
The only sectors experiencing substantive growth in coverage were public sectors — government, education and health services. Worse yet, there is unlikely to be any growth until the availability of health insurance is not in the exclusive hands of employers, particularly in a time where so much of the workforce is unemployed.
There is only one message to take away from these statistics: a public health insurance plan is a must. It is no longer a given that the broadest coverage will be met via employer-based health insurance.
The rapid loss of health coverage demonstrates the fundamental instability of health insurance protections in our current system and the need for comprehensive health reform. As President Barack Obama asserted in a White House forum in March, “Health care reform is no longer just a moral imperative, it is a fiscal imperative… If we want to create jobs and rebuild our economy, then we must address the crushing cost of healthcare this year, in this administration.” The time to deliver quality, affordable health care coverage to our nation’s families is now. The American people cannot afford another missed opportunity.
Download the full report here. (PDF)
(cross-posted to the Bipartisan Report)
