OBJECTIVES: The pandemic in the United States may have caused disruption of health coverage for millions of people. Researchers have found that the pandemic has affected health insurance coverage for millions in the United States. However, there is a gap in the literature that assesses the mental health status of those affected with health insurance by the covid-19 pandemic. Our hypothesis postulates that those who had employer-based insurance were negatively affected and those who had public insurance were positively affected. Those who were on public insurance may not have been affected, however, many of those who lost job-based health insurance.

METHODS: We used a natural quasi-experimental cross sectional method to determine whether the covid-19 pandemic had an effect on health insurance behavior.

An online questionnaire was administered to 500 adults residing in the United States through an online platform, Prolific, that helps researchers recruit participants for online research. Enrollment into the was on a first-come, first-served basis.

The survey administered assessed the participants mental health status with their experience of healthcare during the pandemic. Two regression analysis were conducted to understand the pandemic's effect on participants health. Our dependent variable was the answers to the participants health from the pandemic using a summative scale. The independent variable was whether participants had health insurance and if so, the type of health insurance.

RESULTS: The results showed that loss of employer health insurance has a significant effect on mental health. Furthermore, certain demographics were more likely to experience adverse health from the pandemic.

CONCLUSIONS: Because the USA does not have universal health insurance, the majority of citizens receive their health insurance through their employer. Further studies should be explored to understand the loss of health insurance from the pandemic globally.