Lessons from the Great Recession: New York Medicaid enrollment during the COVID-19 crisis

Lessons from the Great Recession: New York Medicaid enrollment during the COVID-19 crisis

Collection:
Health Policy and Services Research
Series Title(s):
HealthWatch (United Hospital Fund of New York)
Author(s):
Arsen, Emily, author
Scaffidi, Sarah, author
Myers, Nathan, author
Contributor(s):
United Hospital Fund of New York, issuing body.
Publication:
[New York, New York] : United Hospital Fund, June 2020
Language(s):
English
Format:
Text
Subject(s):
COVID-19 -- economics
Economic Recession
Medicaid -- statistics & numerical data
Unemployment
United States
Genre(s):
Technical Report
Abstract:
As the COVID-19 pandemic unfolds, the United States confronts a public health crisis surpassing anything experienced in the last century. Beyond the immediate challenges of caring for those afflicted with the virus, the extraordinary social distancing required to fight the pandemic has also triggered a dramatic economic slowdown, with the unemployment rate at its highest level since the Great Depression and tens of millions filing for unemployment benefits. Many unemployed New Yorkers are turning to Medicaid, which provides a health coverage safety net for low-income individuals. Medicaid enrollment is "countercyclical": it rises during periods of increased unemployment, with individuals enrolling after they have lost employer-sponsored insurance and their incomes have fallen below Medicaid's eligibility thresholds. To help policymakers and stakeholders understand what to anticipate in the current downturn, this brief examines the timing and magnitude of New York's Medicaid enrollment growth during the "Great Recession" of 2007-2009 and describes how state and federal policies facilitated that growth. The brief also compares those historical policy changes to state and federal actions taken during the current crisis--while acknowledging the unprecedented ways in which COVID-19 is shaping Medicaid's response to rising unemployment and New Yorkers' need for coverage.
Copyright:
Reproduced with permission of the copyright holder. Further use of the material is subject to CC BY license. (More information)
Extent:
1 online resource (1 PDF file (16 pages))
Illustrations:
Illustrations
NLM Unique ID:
101773747 (See catalog record)
Permanent Link:
http://resource.nlm.nih.gov/101773747