Many Older Americans Lost Health Insurance During Pandemic

How it Affected Health Coverage

Like most Americans, workers in this age range usually get their health insurance plans through their employer. With the loss of employment, these Americans had several options, including remaining uninsured, trying to buy a plan on the ACA markets, or applying for Medicaid. The last choice had some limits — as many states have not expanded Medicaid eligibility, and some workers may not be eligible.

The report calls the non-group market — primarily ACA plans — an important safety net for workers in this age group. Although the trends were showing a decrease in older workers who enrolled in non-group markets in the years prior to the pandemic, those trends reversed as the pandemic set in.

“Between March and August 2020, the number of adults ages 50 to 64 enrolled in the nongroup market grew by an estimated 210,000 people,” the report said.

“Much of this group likely lost employer coverage and enrolled in ACA Marketplace coverage through a special enrollment period (SEP) that allows people to enroll outside of the usual open enrollment period.”

Medicaid, the public health plan offered to people with low levels of income, also grew significantly in enrollment for this group of Americans. The study found that between March and August 2020, approximately 460,000 adults ages 50 to 64 gained coverage through Medicaid plans, which is more than twice the number of older adults transitioning into the non-group market during the same time.

“Avalere predicts that Medicaid enrollment, which has stayed fairly steady since August 2020, will continue to remain elevated, with between 230,000 and 320,000 more expected to be enrolled by December 2022 than would have been expected without the pandemic,” the report said.

The ranks of the uninsured also has grown — the analysis predicted that as many as 140,000 more older adults may be uninsured by December 2022 than would have been without the pandemic, and that the uninsured rate for this age group is likely to grow to 10%, from 9.4%, prior to the pandemic.

The report concluded by saying that some Americans in this age group may be uninsured because they are not aware of the options they have, with either ACA plans or Medicaid. “It will be important for strong outreach, education, and enrollment-assistance efforts to continue in order to help connect the uninsured individuals to affordable coverage,” the report said.