Fewer California Workers Covered by Employer-Sponsored Health Insurance

Employer-Sponsored Health Insurance in CA

The percentage of workers in California with employer-sponsored health insurance coverage declined from 56.4% in 2001 to 54.3% in 2005, according to a study released Wednesday by the University of California-Los Angeles Center for Health Policy Research, the Los Angeles Times reports. The study found that 80% of uninsured employees either worked for employers who did not offer health coverage or were ineligible to receive health benefits. Twenty percent of uninsured workers did not enroll in available employer-sponsored health plans; most cited high costs as their reason for turning down coverage. The study also found that premiums increased by 66% for family coverage through employer-sponsored plans from 2001 to 2005.

Although fewer state residents received employer-based coverage, the study found that the proportion of uninsured Californians declined from 21.9% in 2001 to 20% in 2005. The study attributes the decline to enrollment increases in Medi-Cal, the state's Medicaid program; Healthy Families; and county-based insurance programs. About one in three California children are insured through such programs, according to the Times.

The report also found that 63% of uninsured Californians were U.S. citizens and 15% were noncitizens with green cards. Twenty-two percent of the states' uninsured residents were undocumented immigrants, according to the study (Engel, Los Angeles Times, 7/11).

Also on Wednesday, the Center on Policy Initiatives released a study that found about 8.7 million of California's 17.3 million adult workers do not have employer-sponsored health care coverage and 2.9 million do not have any insurance (Darc , San Diego Union-Tribune, 7/11). The study used data from the UCLA center's 2005 report on health care coverage (Los Angeles Times, 7/11).

According to the study, people working in higher-wage industries were more likely to have employer-based health insurance coverage than workers in lower-wage fields (San Diego Union-Tribune, 7/11). For example, 73.7% of public administration employees -- including federal and state workers -- were covered by employer-sponsored plans, compared with about 20% of hotel and food workers who had job-based coverage (Colliver, San Francisco Chronicle, 7/11).

Researchers said the results demonstrate that more lower-wage workers seek coverage through a dependent or the government, or do not obtain coverage.

The study concluded, "State legislation seeking to bring health coverage to more of the uninsured must require an equitable contribution from employers." However, the authors did not endorse a specific health care reform proposal (San Diego Union-Tribune, 7/11).

Reprinted with permission from kaisernetwork.org. You can view the entire Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report, search the archives, and sign up for email delivery at kaisernetwork.org/email . The Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report is published for kaisernetwork.org, a free service of The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation. 2007 Advisory Board Company and Kaiser Family Foundation. All rights reserved.