On March 16, the Commonwealth Fund released a report examining the 2007-2009 economic recession’s effect on health coverage.  Using data from the Commonwealth Biennial Health Insurance Survey, the report found that 57 percent of non-elderly adults became uninsured after losing a job that offered health coverage.  Only 25 percent of those who lost employer-sponsored coverage were able to obtain other coverage, with 14 percent continuing coverage through COBRA.  The report suggests that nearly all of the 52 million individuals who were without health coverage in 2010 will have coverage after the national health care reform law is fully implemented in 2014, most with subsidized premiums and reduced cost sharing.

From the report:

Using data from the Commonwealth Biennial Health Insurance Survey of 2010 and prior years, this report examines the effect of the recession on the health insurance coverage of adults between the ages of 19 and 64 and the implications for their finances and access to health care. The survey finds that in the last two years a majority (57%) of men and women who lost a job that had health benefits became uninsured. Both insured and uninsured Americans struggled to pay medical bills and faced cost-related barriers to getting needed care. When fully implemented in 2014, the Affordable Care Act will bring relief: nearly all of the 52 million working-age adults who were without health insurance for a time in 2010 will be covered, most with subsidized premiums and reduced cost-sharing. No one who is legally present will have to go without insurance when they lose their job, and no one will be charged a higher premium because of a health problem, have a problem excluded from coverage, or be denied coverage.

Full Report: How the Recession Has Left Millions of Workers Without Health Insurance (PDF | 905 KB) 

Commonwealth Fund. (2011). Help on the horizon: how the recession has left millions of workers without health insurance, and how health reform will bring relief-- findings from the Commonwealth Fund biennial health insurance survey of 2010. Collins, S. R., Dot, M., Robertson, R., and Garber, T.