7,8 Some of these individuals became more likely to enroll in Medicaid as those temporary sources of coverage expired or became unaffordable, and as their household incomes fell beneath Medicaid eligibility thresholds, such as when unemployment insurance (UI) benefits were exhausted. For instance, unemployed individuals may have received short-term health coverage from severance packages or from other sources such as COBRA plans, which were subsidized for up to 15 months under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA). Many factors contributed to Medicaid’s delayed growth during the last recession. 6 Figure 1 displays these trends, along with key economic events and federal and state policy changes affecting Medicaid eligibility and enrollment since 2007. 5 However, the fastest increase in New York’s Medicaid enrollment lagged the fastest growth in the unemployment rate: between 20, the fastest average increases in enrollment occurred approximately seven months after the fastest average increases in unemployment. 3,4 Medicaid enrollment grew by over 400,000 individuals during the same period, representing a 10 percent increase. The state’s estimated unemployment rate nearly doubled between 20, growing from 4.8% in December 2007 to a peak of 8.9% in November 2009. As unemployment in New York grew, so did Medicaid enrollment.

The 2007–2009 recession marked the largest economic downturn in the United States in decades. Medicaid Enrollment During the Great Recession 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. 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. 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.

Many unemployed New Yorkers are turning to Medicaid, which provides a health coverage safety net for low-income individuals. 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. The related press release can be found here.Īs the COVID-19 pandemic unfolds, the United States confronts a public health crisis surpassing anything experienced in the last century.

Nyc lockdown by august 1