Published in:
01-08-2020 | COVID-19 | Concise Research Report
18.2 Million Individuals at Increased Risk of Severe COVID-19 Illness Are Un- or Underinsured
Authors:
Adam W. Gaffney, MD, MPH, Laura Hawks, MD, David H. Bor, MD, Steffie Woolhandler, MD, MPH, David U. Himmelstein, MD, Danny McCormick, MD
Published in:
Journal of General Internal Medicine
|
Issue 8/2020
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Excerpt
As of April 20, more than 780,000 individuals had confirmed COVID-19 in the USA.
1 In addition to threatening health, this outbreak could have financial consequences for those affected. One analysis estimated that 5.7 million Americans at high risk for severe COVID-19 are uninsured.
2 Healthcare costs could deter such individuals from seeking care, particularly among disadvantaged groups, while burdening household finances. We analyzed a nationally representative survey to identify individuals at elevated risk for severe COVID-19 and, among these, those at high risk of financial toxicity from care at the start of the epidemic. …
