Health Benefits Offer Rates (Page 2)
- Consistent with rapidly growing premium increases, the cost of health insurance remains the main reason cited by all small firms for not offering health coverage (Exhibit 2.4).
- Of all small firms (3-199 workers) not offering coverage, 79% cite high premiums as a “very important” reason for not doing so (Exhibit 2.4).
- Other factors frequently cited by all small firms (3- 199 workers) as “very important” reasons for not offering coverage include: employees are covered elsewhere (36%) and firm can attract good employees without offering health insurance (31%) (Exhibit 2.4).
- Some firms not offering health insurance nevertheless shopped for a plan in the past year.
- Of all nonoffering firms, 20% report shopping for a plan in the past year, including 66% of firms with 50-199 workers.
- Despite significant premium increases in recent years, very few employers indicate that they are likely to drop coverage in the near future. Less than five percent of employers say that they are either “very likely” or “somewhat likely” to drop coverage in the next year. Similarly, just under one percent of employers say that they are “very likely” to restrict eligibility for benefits in the next year, with an additional eight percent indicating that they are “somewhat likely” to do so (see Section 12).
