The rate of employment-based health insurance coverage continues to decline, according to two recent studies from the Census Bureau and Gallup. According to the Census Bureau, the rate of employer-sponsored coverage declined from 64.4 percent in 1997 to 56.5 percent in 2010. And, Gallup recently reported that only 44.5 percent of individuals received health insurance coverage through their employer in 2012, indicating that the trend has continued to spiral down.
Census Bureau
According to the Census Bureau’s report, Employment-Based Health Insurance: 2010, employment-based coverage declined from 76.0 percent in 1997 to 70.2 percent in 2010 among employed individuals. During this time period, the employment-based coverage rate for those not in the labor force declined from 45.4 percent to 38.6 percent and for unemployed individuals declined from 33.5 percent to 30.8 percent. The Census Bureau defines individuals not in the labor force as people without jobs who are not currently looking for work, while unemployed individuals are people without jobs who are actively seeking employment.
The Census Bureau examined reasons for nonparticipation in an employer’s health plan. The report found that the proportion of workers that reference “ineligibility” as the main reason for nonparticipation in an employer’s health insurance plan decreased from 37.1 percent in 1997 to 32.2 percent in 2010. Nonparticipating employees were not eligible to participate in the employer’s health insurance plan typically because they were temporary, worked part-time, or had not completed their probationary period. According to the report, the two most common reasons among workers who chose not to obtain health insurance coverage through their employer were health insurance obtained through another source (66.4 percent) and cost (27.4 percent).
The report also found the following:
• Family income. The likelihood of working for an employer that offered health benefits increased with family income, the report noted. Individuals with family income less than 138 percent of the federal poverty level were the least likely to work for an employer that offered health insurance benefits: 43.3 percent of these workers were employed in firms that offered health insurance benefits. In comparison, workers with family income 401 percent and above of the federal poverty level were the most likely to work for an employer that offered health benefits (80.9 percent).
• Education. The report found that 42.9 percent of individuals who did not complete high school worked for an employer that offered health insurance, compared with 78.9 percent for individuals with a college degree.
• Age. The likelihood of have coverage also increased by age: 75.7 percent of workers age 45 to 64 worked for an employer that offered health insurance benefits, compared with 60.0 percent for workers 19 to 25.
• Marital status. Among married couples with only one member employed in a firm that offered health insurance benefits, 68.7 percent of married couples provided coverage for the spouse.
• Employer size. While 37.6 percent of firms with 0 to 24 employees offered more than one health insurance plan, 65.6 percent of firms with 1,000 or more employees offered more than one plan.
The study is based on the Survey of Income and Program Participation, to examine the characteristics of individuals with employer-provided health insurance. For more information, visit http://www.census.gov.
Gallup Poll
Fewer Americans reported having employer-based health insurance in 2012 than did in 2008, 2009, and 2010, but at 44.5 percent it is unchanged from 2011, according to Gallup-Healthways Well-Being Index. The poll found that more Americans continue to report having a government-based health plan, such as Medicare, Medicaid, or military or veterans’ benefits, with the 25.6 percent who did so in 2012, up from 23.4 percent in 2008.
The majority of workers who do not have a government job continue to get their health insurance from their employer, Gallup noted. But the 56.8 percent who did so in 2012 is down from a high of 64.2 percent in 2008. More non-government workers now get their insurance from a government plan or are uninsured than were in 2008.
The survey contains responses from 353,563 adults living in the U.S. For more information, visit http://www.gallup.com.
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