Nine million Americans have lost health insurance in recession

An estimated nine million of the 13.7 million adult Americans who have lost their jobs in the current economic recession lost the health insurance coverage previously provided by their employer, warns a health insurance survey by the Commonwealth Fund, published on 16 March.

Adults earning less than 200% of the federal poverty level were much more likely to have become uninsured than those whose income was higher than this level (70% versus 42%). Adults in this lower income group were less likely to have gained coverage under a spouse’s health insurance plan or through other means (22% versus 29%). And they were much less likely to have been able to …