Employer Attitudes and Practices Affecting Health Benefits and the Uninsured

Abstract:     
This Issue Brief presents the findings of a study of what employers think and do about providing health benefits for their own workers and what they think about covering the population without health benefits. Most Americans under age 65 received health coverage through employers. Yet, about 16 percent of this population was uninsured in 2000.

Government programs generally do not target workers whose employers do not offer them health benefits or who cannot afford their share of premiums. In the current policy framework, the decisions that America's 6 million employers make about offering, pricing, and designing health benefits, have a major impact on the number of people with and without health coverage.

With funding from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, a literature search, a Web-based survey, and focus groups were conducted to probe present and past attitudes and practices toward health benefits and uninsured workers and their families. The research reveals several challenges and opportunities concerning the role that employers play in providing health coverage.

Keywords: Employment-based Benefits, Health Care Policy, Health Insurance Attitudes and Opinions, Health Insurance Coverage, Uninsured

JEL Classifications: I11, I18, J32

Accepted Paper Series