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Employment-based health insurance coverage in decline: Analysis

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Employment-based health insurance coverage in decline: Analysis

The percentage of the U.S. population with employment-sponsored health insurance coverage has plunged over the past decade, while the percentage of employers offering coverage also has declined, according to a new analysis.

Averaged over 2010 and 2011, just 59.5% of the population under age 65 was eligible for employment-based coverage. That's a drop of more than 10 percentage points compared with the 69.7% of the nonelderly population that received employment-based coverage averaged over 1999 and 2000, according to the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation report released Thursday.

Many factors contributed to the sharp decline of those with employment-based coverage, including a fall in the percentage of employers offering coverage. Averaged over 2010 and 2011, 52.4% offered coverage, down from 58.9% averaged over 1999 and 2000.

The drop in employment-based coverage also coincided with big increases in the cost of health care plans. For example, the average premium for family coverage jumped about 125%, rising to $14,447 averaged over 2010 and 2011, compared with $6,415, averaged over 1999 and 2000.

While every state saw a decline in the percentage of its nonelderly population covered by employer-based plans during the two time periods, there were significant variations.

For example, in Michigan, a state where auto industry employment has plunged, the percentage of the population covered by employer plans fell by 15.2%, the biggest decline of any state. Averaged over 2010 and 2011, 62.9% of the state's nonelderly population had employer-based coverage, compared with 78.1% averaged over 1999 and 2000.

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On the other hand, the percentage of the nonelderly population enrolled in employment-based plans showed little change in several states. For example, In North Dakota, whose economy has boomed in recent years, 68.3% of the nonelderly population had employment-based coverage averaged over 2010 and 2011, a drop of just 0.6% compared with the 68.9% averaged over 1990 and 2000 that had coverage.

Employment-based coverage also remained near stable in Massachusetts, where lawmakers in 2006 passed legislation that imposes a $295-per-employee penalty on all but very small employers that do not offer coverage, as well as a penalty — currently up to nearly $1,300 — placed on individuals not enrolled in a qualified health care plan.

Averaged over 2010 and 2011, 72.9% of the state's nonelderly population had employment-based coverage, compared with 74.3% averaged over 1999 and 2000.

The analysis also found that the states with the highest percentages of their nonelderly populations covered in employer-sponsored plans averaged over 2010 and 2011 were New Hampshire, 73.8%; Massachusetts, 72.9%; Utah, 71.7%; Minnesota, 71.4%; and Connecticut, 70.9%.

At the other end of the spectrum, states with the lowest percentage of their populations covered in employer-sponsored plans, averaged over the same two-year period, were New Mexico, 48.0%; Louisiana, 49.9%; Texas, 52.0%; Mississippi, 52.1%; and Arkansas, 52.9%.

The findings are drawn from a variety of sources, including annual surveys by the U.S. Census Bureau.