April 23, 2021

Effect of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Health Insurance Coverage among Trauma Patients: A Study of Six Level I Trauma Centers

Category: Article Summary

Topic: Public Health Policy and Practice

Keywords (Tags): public health

• An analysis of hospitalized adult patients admitted at 6 US Level I trauma centers from 2018-2020 (N=31,225) found that the proportion of patients without health insurance increased from 15% to 21%. The authors hypothesized that the proportion of patients without insurance would increase due to higher rates of unemployment during the pandemic. However, the proportion of patients with commercial or private insurance coverage remained stable during the study period (40%) while the proportion of patients with Medicare decreased significantly from 39% to 34%. The authors hypothesize that a growing workforce during the years preceding the COVID-19 pandemic may have blunted any reductions in employment-associated insurance coverage, while the reduction in Medicare coverage may be explained by a shift to a younger trauma patient population during the pandemic. 

Sercy et al. (2021). Effect of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Health Insurance Coverage among Trauma Patients: A Study of Six Level I Trauma Centers. Trauma Surgery & Acute Care Open. https://doi.org/10.1136/tsaco-2020-000640