It has emerged that due to budget cuts, thousands of working parents will lose their health insurance coverage.

Many health groups therefore fear that hard-up families will have nowhere to turn, if they suddenly need medical help.

Many programmes that offer cheap insurance to low-income parents will finish by the end of September, leaving families in debt and facing a huge health problem.

Families received letters recently, informing them that the parents will no longer have insurance, but children may be able to keep their cover.

The move comes as demand for government assistance is soaring due to the economic downturn and rising unemployment rates.

The news comes as a shock to hundreds, especially one individual who had surgery scheduled on October 15, to remove his kidney stones.

However, he has now had to struggle to change the date of his operation, to fit it into the month he will be covered. To make matters worse, he became unemployed in December, when his company sacked him due to cost-cutting measures.

“All the things they could cut out, and they're going to cut out insurance on people who actually need it, who have pre-existing conditions that are very serious. Are you kidding me?” the 33-year-old asked.

Now, the family's sole source of income is from his wife, who works about 32 hours a week at a nursery, to look after their two children.

“When I read that letter that they were going to cancel it, I just didn't know what to do. We're already worried about what money we have for this week,” she stated.

Monica Coury, from a health care group, commented on the situation: “It's always difficult to make a decision like this. But, on the other hand, there's a broad recognition that the state is in a fiscal crisis, and difficult decisions are being made across the board.”

An uncertain future

Families affected by the program's end will have trouble finding similar care they can afford, advocates have stated.

“The impact is devastation. Parents are making desperate phone calls to anywhere they can think of, and the problem is there are almost no alternatives for them,” said Dana Naimark, president of a children’s group.

Paul Senseman, from the local government, commented that the loss of the programme is “heartbreaking”.

“We're talking about real cuts to working families who are not looking for a handout but a hand up. It's just heartbreaking to see that, without additional revenues, these kinds of cuts are going to happen,” he said.

One woman, another to-be-victim of the budget cuts, said that her problematic health puts a strain on her family.

She has a nodule on her lung that requires regular monitoring to ensure it does not become cancerous.

However, with the reform, the family can no longer afford health insurance without the aid of the government.

She summed up the feelings felt by thousands due to desperation and worry over the cuts: “I don’t want to sit at home and collect from the state. But, sometimes, you’re forced to do things for your kids that you wouldn’t do normally.”