Health Insurance and Essential Service Workers in New England: Who Lacks Access to Care for COVID-19?
Key Findings | |
![]() |
Over 50,000 essential workers in New England are uninsured, leaving them at high risk of contracting the virus and incurring significant financial hardship. |
![]() |
Among essential service workers, those working in non-healthcare essential service jobs are more likely to be uninsured than those working in healthcare (8.8% vs. 3.2% uninsured, respectively). |
![]() |
Hispanic and non-Hispanic Black essential workers are overrepresented in certain essential service jobs, including healthcare support, food service, and building maintenance, and they are less likely to be insured. |
![]() |
The coronavirus pandemic sweeping through the United States has highlighted critical pockets of vulnerability in our system of healthcare coverage. Essential frontline workers in particular face ongoing risk of infection and of infecting their families and others. For these workers, health insurance is critical. Healthcare workers, of course, face great risk of infection in this time, but another group of workers is also particularly vulnerable: service workers outside of healthcare settings, in industries that are deemed essential. In this brief, we analyze rates of insurance among essential frontline healthcare and non-healthcare workers across New England. In spite of relatively high rates of insurance in New England, there are roughly 50,000 uninsured essential workers across the region. These workers are at increased risk both of infection and of high out-of-pocket medical expenses if they seek care. Such economic risks may preclude them from accessing necessary care in a timely manner, with negative implications for their health. Essential healthcare workers are more likely to be insured than are non-healthcare workers. Within both groups of essential workers, Hispanics and non-Hispanic blacks are clustered in lower-wage jobs with lower rates of insurance. This brief points to the importance of comprehensive and affordable health coverage for treatment of COVID-19 for essential workers and their families, who are putting their lives on the line every day in order to keep our economy running.
Community Development Publications
Invested, community development research, and other materials focused on the economic strength of lower-income communities
About the Authors
Sara Chaganti,
Federal Reserve Bank of Boston
Email: Sara.Chaganti@bos.frb.org
Amy Higgins,
Federal Reserve Bank of Boston
Email: Amy.Higgins@bos.frb.org
Marybeth J. Mattingly,
Federal Reserve Bank of Boston
Email: Beth.Mattingly@bos.frb.org
Resources
Site Topics
Keywords
- COVID-19 ,
- essential workers ,
- New England ,
- race/ethnicity ,
- service workers ,
- health insurance
Related Content
New England Study Group Past Meetings
Mismatch in the Labor Market? Ensuring an Adequate Supply of Skilled Labor in New England
Unstable, unpredictable, and insufficient: Work scheduling in the service sector in New England
Improving High-Skill Immigration Policy for New England: A regional perspective on demand for H-1B visas and an exploration of potential policy improvements