Report: 1.6 million Texans lost employer-sponsored health insurance

An estimated 1.6 million Texans are uninsured after losing their jobs during the coronavirus pandemic, according to a report from the Kaiser Family Foundation, a San Francisco-based health policy think tank.

About 20 percent, or 328,000 people, qualify for Medicaid. Roughly 55 percent, or 881,000 people, could receive government subsidies for health insurance plans from the Affordable Care Act marketplace.

Across the U.S., an estimated 26.7 million employees lost health insurance benefits as the economic downturn forced companies to lay off workers, according to Kaiser Family Foundation figures. 

In Texas, nearly 2 million workers have filed first-time claims for unemployment. Nationwide, more than 36 million jobless claims have been filed since the end of March.