A new report says employer-sponsored insurance has declined every year since 2000, currently leaving 45.7 million people under 65 without coverage – and another 10 million people will lose their coverage unless the economy improves.
The Economic Policy Institute's report, authored by Director of Health Policy Research Elise Gould, estimates that another 10 million people would be without employer-sponsored insurance by 2010 unless the economy makes an unpredicted swift rebound or there is large-scale health reform.
“The current recession, rising unemployment and rising healthcare costs make health reform all the more important for American families now and in the future,” said Gould.
According to the most recent data, compiled in 2008, about 1.8 million fewer people (under 65) were covered by health insurance through the workplace, while the rolls of public insurance – like Medicaid and the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) – expanded to include 3.4 million more people during the same period.
The report breaks down ESI coverage in each state and the District of Columbia. Findings include:
- Massachusetts and Hawaii rank among the highest in ESI coverage rates (Massachusetts at 72.5 percent, Hawaii at 71.5 percent) because both states have mandates requiring employers to offer basic insurance coverage to their workers.
- The largest declines in ESI coverage for those under 65 occurred in Michigan, Tennessee, Missouri, South Carolina and North Carolina, with losses of at least 8 percent over the last decade.
- Michigan currently has the highest state-level unemployment, at 15.3 percent in September.
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