Republicans are weighing billions of dollars in cuts to Medicaid, jeopardizing health care coverage for some of the 80 million U.S. adults and children enrolled in the safety net program.

WASHINGTON Many laid-off workers who lost health insurance in the coronavirus shutdown soon face the first deadlines to qualify for fallback coverage under the Affordable Care Act. We are in the middle of a pandemic, and God forbid if I get sick and I don't have it," she said of her health insurance. They can go to the federal HealthCare.gov or their state's health insurance website. The federal-state Children's Health Insurance Program and Medicaid cover kids in families with incomes well above the poverty level. Government statistics on people losing and finding health insurance coverage in the coronavirus contraction won't be available for months.

Their uninsured rate jumped to 5.2% last year, up from 4.7% in 2016. Another Census study shows a similar increase, with the uninsured rate for kids increasing to 5.5% last year, up from 5.0% two years earlier. Also, the Trump administration's crackdown on immigration has discouraged parents from enrolling eligible children in public programs, leading to a rise in uninsured Latino children in particular. The majority of uninsured children qualify for either Medicaid or CHIP but are not enrolled. Fifteen states, led by Tennessee, Georgia and Texas, saw the number and/or rate of uninsured children increase.