AUSTIN (KXAN) — Nearly 1.6 million Texans have lost access to employer-sponsored health insurance as a result of job losses related to the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a new study.
At the start of this year, Texas had five million uninsured residents. Its uninsured rate of 18% was the highest in the USA.
The study, released this week by the Kaiser Family Foundation, estimates that a further 1.6 million people have lost their insurance since March.
It is unknown how many of those people were able to find coverage elsewhere.
In a statement, State Representative Chris Turner (D-Grand Prairie), Chair of the Texas House Democratic Caucus, said:
“Losing your health insurance is a terrifying prospect at any time, but especially during a global pandemic. The state of Texas should do everything possible to provide health coverage to Texans at this time of great uncertainty.”
You can read the study in full here.
