Employer-sponsored insurance (ESI) eroded “significantly” in the last decade, although federal health reform is expected to reverse the decline for small employers, two studies say.
The percentage of non-elderly Americans who get their health insurance through their jobs declined to 61% in 2008/2009 from 69% nine years before, according to a report from the State Health Access Data Assistance Center at the University of Minnesota. About 7.3 million fewer people have ESI than about one decade ago, 4.1 million (about 57%) of which are dependents.
“For 60 years, American businesses have been the conduit to health insurance for most families, so this decade-long decline in ESI is troubling,” Risa Lavizzo-Mourey, president and CEO of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, which published the reports, said in a statement.
The percentage of non-elderly residents with ESI declined in 42 states, with 12 states experiencing declines of 10% or more: Arizona, Arkansas, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, North Carolina, Ohio, Rhode Island, Tennessee and Texas.
More than half of those who lost ESI (3.8 million) were in families earning moderate incomes, which researches defined as about $44,000 to $88,000 for a family of four.
Nationwide, private employers offering ESI declined by 3.6 percentage points between 1999/2000 and 2008/2009. Small businesses with less than 50 workers saw a decline from 47% in 1999/2000 to 42% in 2008/2009.
Health care reform improves small business outlook
The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) may help reverse the decline because of the Small Business Health Options Program and reforms to health insurance markets, according to a study by the Urban Institute, also released through Princeton, N.J.-based RWJF.
Insurance offer rates for all firms with fewer than 100 employees would increase by 9.7% under the PPACA, from a projected 43.4% to 47.6%, according to the study. The smallest firms would experience the biggest jump, with a projected increase in offer rates of 14.2% among businesses with fewer than 10 employees, the study reported.
“Small business owners have struggled for years to provide health insurance to employees,” Lavizzo-Mourey said. “The estimates based on the Urban Institute’s simulation model suggest that relief could be in sight for small businesses that want to cover their employees, but have been unable to do so in the past due to ever-rising costs.”
Employee health plan enrollment falls, but may rise with health reform via IFAwebnews.com .
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