Impacts to Healthcare, Housing, and Informal Support
Among respondents who were not previously insured, 27% gained health coverage since the pandemic began. Among respondents who had health insurance coverage during the previous year, 5% lost coverage since the pandemic began.
The large majority of those surveyed reported that they lived in a place that they considered to be permanent and stable housing both before and during the pandemic. A total of 96% reported so before the pandemic and 94% reported so during, reflecting a small decrease between the two periods.
However, 19% of all respondents reported that since the pandemic began, one or more people had moved into their household.
While 17% of non-Latino/a’s reported that another person had moved into their household, 31% of Latino/a’s reported that this was the case.
Both before and during the pandemic, there was widespread use of care networks (i.e. individuals who reported that they either gave or received financial support from friends or family). But while many reported giving assistance (37% before the pandemic, 38% during the pandemic), far fewer reported receiving assistance (7% before the pandemic, 9% during the pandemic).
Latino/a’s gave financial assistance to family or friends at higher rates, with 43% reporting they did so before the pandemic, increasing to 52% during the pandemic, compared to non-Latino/a’s, 36% of who reported giving both before and 35% during the pandemic.
Younger people relied on financial assistance from friends and family at much higher rates than older people, with nearly 17% of 18-29 year olds receiving assistance before the pandemic, up to 23% during the pandemic.
Of households that have children younger than 16 years old, 18% did not have access to high-speed internet in their homes.
Policy Takeaways:
The relatively small loss of healthcare coverage despite significant growth in unemployment, along with a major increase in coverage among the previously uninsured suggests that individuals are obtaining healthcare through non-workplace-based plans. This mirrors a national surge in enrollments in federal and state-based health insurance plans.
The relatively small impact of the pandemic on reported housing security through July 2020 likely speaks to the near-term success of eviction moratoria and supplemental income made available through the CARES Act. However, the expiration of these benefits will likely increase housing insecurity. The fact that nearly a fifth of people had at least one other person move into their home since the pandemic began suggests heightened levels of mobility and wide use of care networks to maintain secure housing.
Many rural Westerners - especially Latino/a’s - support their friends and family with financial assistance and a place to stay. This broad use of informal support networks suggests that even those whose income or housing is not directly affected by the pandemic (e.g. through loss of a job or an eviction) may nevertheless experience an added burden as a result of providing for others.
That high-speed internet is only available in 85% of homes with school-aged children suggests that online-only education is not readily available to all families across the rural American West. If schools in the rural West move to an online only learning format, efforts should be made to increase accessibility of technology.