Studies: Health law aids employer health coverage

Jun 23 2011

Research released yesterday by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the Urban Institute offered a very different view of the impact the health law would have on employer-based health coverage than a controversial survey released last week by McKinsey and Co. The new findings pointed to a downward trend in coverage and noted that the health overhaul might counter it, especially in regard to the nation's smallest businesses.

Reuters: US Health Care Law Seen Aiding Employer Coverage
Even though the number of Americans with health insurance through employers has declined, most will continue to get coverage through their jobs after the new health care law takes full effect, studies released on Tuesday said. About 61 percent of non-elderly Americans got their health care coverage through employers in 2009, down from 69 percent in 2000, according to a study sponsored by the non-partisan Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. Low and moderate-income families employed by small firms were the most likely to be affected by a loss of employer-sponsored coverage (Smith, 6/21).

The Fiscal Times: Health Care Reports Clash Over Employer Coverage
Two studies out today from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the Urban Institute conclude that coverage will actually grow in response to reform, a report sharply counter to a recent survey suggesting major employers are planning to drop insurance coverage in response to the new health care reform law. The new data contrast sharply with a survey from consulting firm McKinsey & Co. that drew fire from the Obama administration, suggesting that about one-third of the firm's clients would stop offering workers health insurance coverage and instead send employees to the state-based health insurance exchanges set up under the law (Hirsch, 6/21).

CQ HealthBeat: Employer Health Coverage Draws Yet More Scrutiny From Researchers
The share of Americans with employer-sponsored insurance dropped from 69 percent in 1999-2000 to 61 percent in 2008-2009. But the health care law might counter that trend among the nation's smallest businesses, a pair of reports issued Tuesday said. The new analyses were released by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. They came as a series of other studies by various groups have offered conflicting pictures of the future of employer-sponsored policies, which have been regarded as a staple at most large companies. Democratic backers of the health care overhaul law have been fighting a survey by McKinsey & Co. consultants that predicted major drops in employer coverage when the law took effect (Norman, 6/21).

Some specifics in terms of the current downward trend in employer-based insurance -

Dallas Morning News: Report: Share Of People In Texas And U.S. With Health Insurance Via Work Falls
The shares of workers in Texas and nationwide who get health insurance through their employer has eroded significantly over the last decade, according to a new report (Roberson, 6/21).

Atlanta Journal Constitution: Fewer Georgians Get Insurance Through Jobs
The share of Georgians who got health insurance through an employer dropped sharply between 1999 and 2009, as rising costs prompted fewer small companies to offer coverage and the recession forced some workers out of jobs with benefits, a new study found. Among Georgians under 65, 59.8 percent had employee health plans during 2008 and 2009, down from 69.3 percent during 1999 and 2000, according to the study released Tuesday by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (Teegardin, 6/21).