A Kaiser Family Foundation analysis examined data from 2004 to 2007, finding that more than one-third of individuals who left a job that provided employer-sponsored health insurance were uninsured for at least six-months after leaving their employer.  In contrast, KFF found that only 5 percent of those remaining at their employers experienced similar periods of uninsurance.  KFF found that workers leaving small businesses and those with incomes below 200 percent of the federal poverty level (FPL) were more likely to be uninsured.

From the Report: The deep recession in the United States continues to impact workers as they strive to hold on to their jobs and their health insurance. With the unemployment rate at 9.7% and 15 million people looking for work in the United States, millions of Americans risk losing their health coverage.  Exact data on how many newly unemployed workers are losing coverage during this recession is difficult to obtain because it takes time to collect and analyze data on health insurance. This brief provides insight into the impact of unemployment on health coverage by using data from before the current recession (2004-2007) to assess the increased risk of becoming uninsured among those who are no longer employed.

Full report:  Assessing the Risk of Becoming Uninsured After Leaving a Job: A Look at the Data (PDF | 480.25 KB)