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The coronavirus pandemic is a health care crisis, but health care still isn’t immune from the rampant job losses the pandemic has wrought, Axios’ Bob Herman reports.

By the numbers: The health care industry lost more than 1.4 million jobs in April.

The reason: These jobs have gone away because outpatient care has dried up, as providers postponed elective procedures.

• More than four out of five of those lost jobs were at dentists, doctors’ offices, chiropractors and other outpatient settings.
• Technicians, billing clerks and medical assistants who work in outpatient settings — many of whom are not highly paid — have felt the brunt of the job losses.

What’s next: Don’t expect a quick return, even as elective procedures are able to come back online.

• Patients who have lost their insurance or are worried about catching the coronavirus in a waiting room will likely stay away even from outpatient facilities.
• “Of all the places people want to come back to quickly, a health care setting is probably not at the top of the list,” said Ani Turner, a health economist at Altarum.

What we’re watching: All of these delays in elective care a boon to insurers, who are saving a lot of money while outpatient procedures are on ice.

• Some insurers will likely have to pay big rebates to their customers as a result. UnitedHealth Group is getting a jump start on that process, announcing $1.5 billion worth of voluntary premium credits and waived fees.