There is renewed discussion today about a potential "piecemeal" stimulus focused on specific industries and some income support to households. But any stimulus that does not address the millions of people losing employer coverage right now will be much less effective. Thread:

2. We have several million uninsured people getting unemployment insurance now. These people are likely to be avoiding care, which places them at much higher pandemic risk. It also lowers health care utilization which is terrible for the largest sector of our economy.

3. The most recent Dem stimulus bills would simply enroll people getting unemployment insurance into comprehensive ACA plans. Some new census research via @standorn: This would cover almost 5 million uninsured UI beneficiaries, plus their children.

4. States w/highest percent of UI beneficiaries who are uninsured (covered under the Dem proposal)

1 Texas 58% (!)
2 Mississippi 48%
3 Tennessee 45%
4 Oklahoma 43%
5 South Carolina 40%
6 West Virginia 39%
7 North Carolina 39%
8 Nebraska 38%
9 Wyoming 36%
10 Indiana 30%

5. 74% of the 5 million uninsured unemployed don't have a college degree, and almost half of them have children. 47% White, 30% Latinx, 17% African-American. A national cross-section of mostly working class people who are out of work & lost health insurance from blue collar jobs.

6. This group is, at best, barely hanging on. Their access to health care in a pandemic is greatly limited without coverage. 1.2 million (27%) reported not having enough food to eat during the 7 days before the survey. 1.9 million (53%) were at apparent risk of homelessness.

7. Fundamentally we need a comprehensive package to help unemployed people AND to ramp up testing and quarantining to that people stop losing jobs at such high rates. Pandemic response and economic assistance. Health coverage is integral to both components. /End thread