Snapshot: Employer-Based Insurance: Coverage and Cost

Publication Date: June 2006

Publisher: California HealthCare Foundation

Author(s): Christine Eibner; Kanika Kapur; M. Susan Marquis; Rand Corporation

Research Area: Health

Type: Brief

Coverage: California

Abstract:

The cost of health insurance remains a perennial preoccupation of employers, employees, and policymakers. About two-thirds of California businesses offer health insurance to at least some workers as a benefit of employment. These businesses account for 89 percent of California workers. This report, Employer-Based Insurance: Coverage and Cost, provides an overview of the employment-based insurance landscape. It addresses a range of issues, including how costs are distributed; which types of employers offer coverage; the number of workers enrolled; and how employer premiums vary among offering businesses. It also examines how employer costs would change if every business provided coverage for all full-time workers.