US Employer Health Insurance Hits New Low

[OhioChick]

Source: Reuters

Published: Friday, 11 Nov 2011 | 10:56 AM ET

The percentage of Americans who have health insurance through their employer slipped to a new low of 44.5 percent in the third quarter, a drop of more than 5 percentage points in three years, according to a new poll released Friday.

Pollsters at Gallup and Healthways , who surveyed more than 90,000 U.S. adults, blamed the decline on high unemployment , underemployment and an increased number of employers who do not offer health insurance to their workers.

Employer-sponsored health insurance is one of the main pillars of the $2.6 trillion U.S. health-care industry. But companies have increasingly scaled back benefits and raised employee charges to cope with health-care costs that are rising sharply despite anemic economic growth.

The latest figure was 5.3 percentage points below a high of 49.8 percent in 2008, when the two companies began tracking trends in employer-sponsored health insurance.

Read more: http://www.cnbc.com/id/45255516

[leveymg]

1. That has been the net effect of Obama's private HCR package. Austerity and cost transfer to workers

Anything to bring down the cost of doing business, right, Tim? Larry? You're lurking back there, as well.

Things pretty much going according to plan, Barrack? Nice global competitiveness measure disguised as "health care reform".

Guess Mittens deserves congratulations as well. It's pretty much his insurance "reform" plan.

[blueclown]

8. Stick to the facts next time.

None of the ACA's reforms regarding coverage expansion have been implemented yet. Save your talking points for after 2014.

[DeSwiss]

10. +1000

:thumbsup:

[Citizen Worker]

2. The Obama health care plan is the model for the rest of the world.

[adam in oregon]

3. Just wait

Just wait until 2014 when the individual mandate kicks in. Why would any business continue to worry about employee health insurance when the individual is legally obligated to buy it for themselves. They won't. And guess what? Your wages wont go up near the amount these companies are going to save by not supplying employer based health insurance. This is why we need a national health care plan. We need to get rid of the link between employers and insurance. It would save us billions of dollars and man hours and immediately make us more competitive on the world market.

[riderinthestorm]

9. +1. I've said this before as well on DU. I'm a small biz owner and it's only logical

Why would any company offer health insurance benefits when in 2014, everyone will be legally mandated to purchase it themselves (if their company isn't). Companies are being officially let off the hook and employees are going to be SOL since Big Insurance is going to just jack up the rates (and let the government "subsidize" those cost differences).

This is going to be a monumental clusterfuck, mark my words. Companies get out of the hated job of administering their odious and expensive health care plans, get to save a bundle (which will NOT be passed along to the employees - automatic pay cut for everyone, ka ching!), all under cover of the individual mandate thanks to HCR.

Welcome to DU adam. You're in for a bumpy ride joining at this stage of the game. Not only is it election season (always a DU lowpoint), but some of these policies coming up will make this place explode.

[zalinda]

4. How could any one have seen this happening? Duh! n/t

[sarcasmo]

5. USA, USA, USA.

[w0nderer]

6. spin center sponsored message: americans healthier than ever

fewer and fewer americans consider themselves needing health insurance
and fewer of those with health insurance consider themselves needing to use it

this supports the theory that working hard is healthy

rumours that lack of healthinsurance and usage of such would be
due to lack of financial resources or jobs are of course
pure enemy propaganda and spreading of such is a thought crime

thank you for your time
:sarcasm:

[woo me with science]

7. Don't worry. Walmart will be providing our health care

very soon.