How the coronavirus hits the poorest particularly hard in the United States

Nearly 27 million Americans could lose their health insurance, 6 more points

What’s going on?

According to a study, nearly 27 million people could lose their health insurance amid the crown pandemic due to the huge increase in unemployment in the United States. The reason for this is that most people there have health insurance through employers, as a study by the Kaiser Family Foundation explains.

How can unemployed people remain insured?

After losing a job in the United States, employer health insurance often ends very quickly. Many employees simply cannot afford to continue paying for the policy privately for themselves and their co-insured family members. However, the study released Wednesday (local time) assumes that about 21 million people can expect state aid after losing their employer’s insurance, including about 6 million children who are insured. However, due to bureaucratic hurdles or insufficient subsidies, many are likely to remain in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic without insurance coverage, he said. Furthermore, around 6 million people would not have the right to help.

Why is the problem so serious?

In the United States, more than 33 million people have been unemployed since March due to the crown crisis. The United States is practically the only developed country without general health insurance. Even before the Corona crisis, around 28 million people, almost one in ten in the country, had no health insurance.

Wasn’t there something about Obama?

Under then President Barack Obama, health insurance options were significantly expanded. In 2010, the number of people without insurance coverage was still around 46 million. The new system, often simply called “Obamacare,” along with a long economic rebound, then reduced the number of uninsured Americans to 28 million by 2018. But now the economy is facing a severe recession. This will be a difficult test for Obama’s insurance system, the foundation said.

What is Donald Trump planning?

Donald Trump, who is applying for a second term in November, wants to abolish the so-called “Obamacare”. Meanwhile, the President of the United States is again putting pressure on states to lift their crown restrictions as soon as possible so that the economy can recover.

What does Democrat Biden say?

Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden accused Trump of continuing to put party politics and the interests of the health lobby above those of the people of the United States, even in the face of the “biggest health crisis in a century.” “Obamacare” should not be interrupted during the crisis, he warned. The 27 million people who could now lose their insurance are not statistics, Biden said. “These are our relatives, our friends, our neighbors, our coworkers, who have worked hard and followed the rules and are now facing catastrophic challenges through no fault of their own.” (sda / dpa)