UPDATED: Alabama's worsening health insurance problem

     Almost 5 and a half Million Americans have lost their health insurance during the pandemic and its economic impact on the U.S. economy.
     That conclusion is from a newly released study,
     

"These recent increases in the number of uninsured adults are 39% higher than any annual increase ever recorded. The highest previous increase took place over the one-year period from 2008 to 2009, when 3.9 million nonelderly adults became uninsured."

     The report shows Alabama ranked in the top 10 states in which people (19%) have lost their health insurance. Alabama is also on the reports list of states with the fastest increase in Covid19 rates.

     Alabama is one of thirteen states that did not expand Medicaid.

UPDATE: Alabama Arise is out with some additional figures today (Wednesday, 7-15-2020):

69,000 Alabama workers lost coverage when they may need it most, new report finds

Job losses during the COVID-19 economic crash kicked 69,000 Alabamians off their health insurance between February and May, according to a new report by Families USA, a nonprofit research organization based in Washington, D.C.

Those coverage losses increased Alabama’s uninsured rate for non-elderly adults to 19%, the report finds. That is the ninth highest rate in the nation and 3 percentage points higher than in 2018. As workers and their families lose comprehensive health insurance, their risk of delayed care and complications from the virus increases. So does their risk of financial devastation.