Wednesday, February 07, 2007
Tweet[IWS] Kaiser: INSURANCE PREMIUM COST-SHARING & COVERAGE TAKE-UP [7 February 2007]
IWS Documented News Service
_______________________________
Institute for Workplace Studies----------------- Professor Samuel B. Bacharach
School of Industrial & Labor Relations-------- Director, Institute for Workplace Studies
Cornell University
16 East 34th Street, 4th floor---------------------- Stuart Basefsky
New York, NY 10016 -------------------------------Director, IWS News Bureau
________________________________________________________________________
Kaiser Family Foundation
Snapsots: Health Care Costs
Insurance Premium Cost-Sharing and Coverage Take-up [7 February 2007]
February 2007
http://www.kff.org/insurance/snapshot/chcm020707oth.cfm
Abstract:
One of the many reasons an individual may be uninsured is that she or he decides an employer's offer of health insurance is too expensive. Several studies have noted the likelihood that a worker will decline an employer's offer of health insurance increases with the amount he or she is required to contribute. Alternatively, employees may obtain coverage through a spouse, opt for publicly provided coverage if eligible, or decide to do without coverage entirely. This issue brief looks at the connection between premiums and the percent of workers who enroll in employer plans using the two most recent years of the Kaiser/HRET Employer Health Benefits Survey (EHBS). Several of these analyses suggest that the required worker share of the premium can be an obstacle to coverage that raises concerns about the affordability of private health coverage.
Includes numerous CHARTS.....
Press Release [7 February 2007]
New Analysis Shows How Higher Premiums Lead More Workers To Opt Out Of Employer Health Coverage
http://www.kff.org/newsroom/index.cfm
[this release will appear at the URL above soon]
As policy discussions to expand coverage for the uninsured consider what is affordable for low-income and moderate-income people, a new analysis by the Kaiser Family Foundation documents how workers are less likely to sign up for health insurance from their employer when they must pay a larger share of its cost. The results suggest that many workers will forego their employer's coverage and could end up without any health insurance if required to pay too much of its cost.
About 160 million Americans obtain their health insurance through their employer or a family member's employer. Premiums for employer-sponsored health coverage averaged $11,480 for family coverage in 2006, with workers required on average to pay $2,973 toward the costs of that coverage. However, workers' contributions to their health premiums vary greatly across firms, and this new study examines how those variations can affect the likelihood that a worker will accept, or "take up," their employer's coverage.
The study is based on 2005 and 2006 data from the Kaiser Family Foundation/Health Research and Education Trust Employer Health Benefits Survey. It looks at variations in the rate workers take up their employer's health coverage based on the share of the premium that they are asked to pay broken by size of firm, by industry, and by wage level of the company.
While some workers do not take up health insurance even when they have to pay nothing or a small share of the costs of coverage, the analysis shows a drop in the take-up rate among workers as their share of premiums increases with low-wage workers generally less likely to take up coverage across the board. The data does not show what alternative coverage, if any, is available to those workers who opt out of their employers' coverage. However, it suggests that some firms' offers for health coverage are considered less affordable to workers in low-wage firms and could lead some to forgo coverage and become uninsured.
The analysis "Insurance Premium Cost-Sharing and Coverage Take-Up," (http://www.kff.org/insurance/snapshot/chcm020707oth.cfm) is part of Snapshots: Health Care Costs, ( http://www.kff.org/insurance/snapshot/index.cfm) which is an online series by Kaiser Family Foundation staff that provides insight into key issues affecting the cost of health care in the United States. The Snapshots series is intended to help increase understanding of how rising health costs can be addressed and encourage a well-informed and fact-based discussion as policymakers in Washington and across the country weigh strategies for curbing the rising costs of health care for people, businesses and governments alike.
For Additional information please contact Craig Palosky at 202-347-5270 or cpalosky@kff.org.
______________________________
This information is provided to subscribers, friends, faculty, students and alumni of the School of Industrial & Labor Relations (ILR). It is a service of the Institute for Workplace Studies (IWS) in New York City. Stuart Basefsky is responsible for the selection of the contents which is intended to keep researchers, companies, workers, and governments aware of the latest information related to ILR disciplines as it becomes available for the purposes of research, understanding and debate. The content does not reflect the opinions or positions of Cornell University, the School of Industrial & Labor Relations, or that of Mr. Basefsky and should not be construed as such. The service is unique in that it provides the original source documentation, via links, behind the news and research of the day. Use of the information provided is unrestricted. However, it is requested that users acknowledge that the information was found via the IWS Documented News Service.
Stuart Basefsky
Director, IWS News Bureau
Institute for Workplace Studies
Cornell/ILR School
16 E. 34th Street, 4th Floor
New York, NY 10016
Telephone: (607) 255-2703
Fax: (607) 255-9641
E-mail: smb6@cornell.edu
****************************************
_______________________________
Institute for Workplace Studies----------------- Professor Samuel B. Bacharach
School of Industrial & Labor Relations-------- Director, Institute for Workplace Studies
Cornell University
16 East 34th Street, 4th floor---------------------- Stuart Basefsky
New York, NY 10016 -------------------------------Director, IWS News Bureau
________________________________________________________________________
Kaiser Family Foundation
Snapsots: Health Care Costs
Insurance Premium Cost-Sharing and Coverage Take-up [7 February 2007]
February 2007
http://www.kff.org/insurance/snapshot/chcm020707oth.cfm
Abstract:
One of the many reasons an individual may be uninsured is that she or he decides an employer's offer of health insurance is too expensive. Several studies have noted the likelihood that a worker will decline an employer's offer of health insurance increases with the amount he or she is required to contribute. Alternatively, employees may obtain coverage through a spouse, opt for publicly provided coverage if eligible, or decide to do without coverage entirely. This issue brief looks at the connection between premiums and the percent of workers who enroll in employer plans using the two most recent years of the Kaiser/HRET Employer Health Benefits Survey (EHBS). Several of these analyses suggest that the required worker share of the premium can be an obstacle to coverage that raises concerns about the affordability of private health coverage.
Includes numerous CHARTS.....
Press Release [7 February 2007]
New Analysis Shows How Higher Premiums Lead More Workers To Opt Out Of Employer Health Coverage
http://www.kff.org/newsroom/index.cfm
[this release will appear at the URL above soon]
As policy discussions to expand coverage for the uninsured consider what is affordable for low-income and moderate-income people, a new analysis by the Kaiser Family Foundation documents how workers are less likely to sign up for health insurance from their employer when they must pay a larger share of its cost. The results suggest that many workers will forego their employer's coverage and could end up without any health insurance if required to pay too much of its cost.
About 160 million Americans obtain their health insurance through their employer or a family member's employer. Premiums for employer-sponsored health coverage averaged $11,480 for family coverage in 2006, with workers required on average to pay $2,973 toward the costs of that coverage. However, workers' contributions to their health premiums vary greatly across firms, and this new study examines how those variations can affect the likelihood that a worker will accept, or "take up," their employer's coverage.
The study is based on 2005 and 2006 data from the Kaiser Family Foundation/Health Research and Education Trust Employer Health Benefits Survey. It looks at variations in the rate workers take up their employer's health coverage based on the share of the premium that they are asked to pay broken by size of firm, by industry, and by wage level of the company.
While some workers do not take up health insurance even when they have to pay nothing or a small share of the costs of coverage, the analysis shows a drop in the take-up rate among workers as their share of premiums increases with low-wage workers generally less likely to take up coverage across the board. The data does not show what alternative coverage, if any, is available to those workers who opt out of their employers' coverage. However, it suggests that some firms' offers for health coverage are considered less affordable to workers in low-wage firms and could lead some to forgo coverage and become uninsured.
The analysis "Insurance Premium Cost-Sharing and Coverage Take-Up," (http://www.kff.org/insurance/snapshot/chcm020707oth.cfm) is part of Snapshots: Health Care Costs, ( http://www.kff.org/insurance/snapshot/index.cfm) which is an online series by Kaiser Family Foundation staff that provides insight into key issues affecting the cost of health care in the United States. The Snapshots series is intended to help increase understanding of how rising health costs can be addressed and encourage a well-informed and fact-based discussion as policymakers in Washington and across the country weigh strategies for curbing the rising costs of health care for people, businesses and governments alike.
For Additional information please contact Craig Palosky at 202-347-5270 or cpalosky@kff.org.
______________________________
This information is provided to subscribers, friends, faculty, students and alumni of the School of Industrial & Labor Relations (ILR). It is a service of the Institute for Workplace Studies (IWS) in New York City. Stuart Basefsky is responsible for the selection of the contents which is intended to keep researchers, companies, workers, and governments aware of the latest information related to ILR disciplines as it becomes available for the purposes of research, understanding and debate. The content does not reflect the opinions or positions of Cornell University, the School of Industrial & Labor Relations, or that of Mr. Basefsky and should not be construed as such. The service is unique in that it provides the original source documentation, via links, behind the news and research of the day. Use of the information provided is unrestricted. However, it is requested that users acknowledge that the information was found via the IWS Documented News Service.
Stuart Basefsky
Director, IWS News Bureau
Institute for Workplace Studies
Cornell/ILR School
16 E. 34th Street, 4th Floor
New York, NY 10016
Telephone: (607) 255-2703
Fax: (607) 255-9641
E-mail: smb6@cornell.edu
****************************************
# posted by SBasefsky : 1:18 PM
