The distribution of enrollment among types of health plans has remained fairly constant over the past several years. The majority of covered workers are enrolled in PPO plans (55%), followed by HMO plans (25%) (Exhibit 5.1).

Although annual changes in plan enrollment have been moderate, enrollment in PPO plans has grown by nine percentage points since 2001.

• More than half of covered workers (55%) are enrolled in PPO plans, an increase from 46% in 2001 (Exhibit 5.1). Conventional plan enrollment has remained fairly minimal since 2000, comprising less than ten percent of total enrollment.
• There are slight regional differences in plan enrollment. PPO plans have higher enrollment in the Midwest (64%) and the South (64%). HMO enrollment is consistently highest in the West (36%). POS plans tend to have higher enrollment in the Northeast compared to other regions (23%) (Exhibit 5.2).
• PPO enrollment is particularly strong in certain industries. Enrollment in PPO plans is high in the mining, construction, and wholesale industries (68%), and in the transportation, communications and utilities industries (65%) (Exhibit 5.2).
  • The percentage of workers enrolled in HMOs has remained steady since 2001 at approximately 25% (Exhibit 5.1).
  • Conventional plan enrollment remains low at five percent of covered workers (Exhibit 5.1).