October 21st, 2009

Reports the Philadelphia Inquirer:

Because health insurance and employment go together, this year’s devastating job losses have likely increased the ranks of the uninsured by four million people, including nearly 200,000 in Pennsylvania and New Jersey.

The estimate is provided by Families USA, a Washington organization that focuses on consumer health care and supports improvements.

“People who receive a pink slip experience a double whammy,” Ron Pollack, Families USA executive director, said yesterday during a telephone news conference about the group’s analysis of census and unemployment data. “They not only lose their jobs, but they usually lose their health coverage as well. That’s why health reform is so important.”

Pollack said bills now being considered could improve the situation by expanding the Medicaid program to people with higher incomes, offering subsidies for some individuals who need to buy insurance on their own, and placing limits on out-of-pocket costs.

Sixty-two percent of working-age Americans get insurance through their job or the job of a family member.

Families USA estimated that 99,500 people in New Jersey and 98,500 in Pennsylvania lost insurance this year because of a job loss.

Find out more at the Inquirer.