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How Employers Support Lower-Waged Workers’ Access to Health Insurance Options

Health insurance makes up 8% of total employee compensation on average, and while most employees take up health insurance when it is offered, lower-wage workers are far less likely to be able to access coverage, according to a new Peterson-KFF Health System Tracker analysis of survey data and focus groups with more than 100 U.S. employers with over a quarter of a million employees.

What Are the Recent Trends in Employer-Based Health Coverage?

Policy Changes Bring Renewed Focus on High-Deductible Health Plans

Health Insurer Financial Performance in 2024

Examining Short-Term Limited-Duration Health Plans

Health Care Affordability

BTD Health Policy in 2026

Health Policy in 2026

President and CEO Dr. Drew Altman forecasts eight things to look for in health policy in 2026. “First and foremost,” he writes, “is the role health care affordability will play in the midterms.” And, he notes: “The average cost of a family policy for employers could approach $30,000 and cost sharing and deductibles will rise again after plateauing for several years.”

View all of Drew’s Beyond the Data Columns

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  • Poll: Public Views “Big Beautiful Bill” Unfavorably by Nearly a 2-1 Margin; Democrats, Independents and Non-MAGA Republicans Oppose It, While MAGA Supporters Favor It

    News Release

    Medicaid Work Requirements Are Generally Popular, But Arguments Can Shift Views Nearly two-thirds (64%) of the public holds unfavorable views of the “One Big Beautiful Bill” passed last month by the House, nearly twice the share who view the bill favorably (35%), a new KFF Health Tracking Poll finds. The budget reconciliation bill that includes tax and budget cuts – much of which affect health care – is viewed unfavorably by large majorities of Democrats…

  • Medicaid Workers and Job-Based Insurance: Who Is Offered, Eligible, and Enrolled?

    Issue Brief

    Most adult Medicaid enrollees who will be subject to new work requirements are already working but rely on Medicaid because their employers do not offer health coverage or they are not eligible for the coverage offered at their job. This analysis examines the availability of job-based insurance in 2024 for adult Medicaid workers ages 19 to 64.

  • Health Insurance Market Reforms: Rate Restrictions

    Fact Sheet

    Rate restrictions limit how much insurance companies can vary premiums charged to individuals and businesses based on factors such as health status, age, tobacco use and gender. Currently, federal law does not place any limits on the ways that insurance companies set their premium rates. However, beginning January 1, 2014, insurance companies must meet the Affordable Care Act's minimum premium rating rules for health plans for individuals and small businesses. This brief explains the current…

  • Explaining Health Care Reform: What Is An Employer “Pay-or-Play” Requirement?

    Issue Brief

    To broaden coverage, some health reform proposals would require employers to offer coverage or pay to help finance subsidies for those without access to affordable coverage. These types of reforms are often referred to as “pay-or-play” policies. The brief explains the concept and policy implications of employer pay-or-play proposals, which can vary in terms of the level of coverage required for compliance, the cost of the penalty to employers who do not offer, and whether…

  • How Non-Group Health Coverage Varies With Income

    Report

    With some federal and state policy makers considering ways to encourage more people to purchase non-group, or individual, health care coverage, this new analysis by Kaiser Family Foundation researchers examines how often people at different income levels buy such coverage when they do not have access to employer coverage or do not obtain public coverage. The analysis finds that relatively few people at lower incomes purchase non-group coverage, with one in 20 purchasing it among…

  • Primers on Key Health Care Topics and Programs

    Issue Brief

    The Kaiser Family Foundation maintains a number of primers providing overviews of key health care programs and issues. Written by Foundation staff, each primer provides key data and information that helps illustrate the topic and its relevance for the nation's health care system. Medicaid: A Primer Medicare: A Primer The Uninsured: A Primer Health Care Costs: A Primer How Private Health Coverage Works: A Primer Mental Health Financing in the United States: A Primer The…

  • Health Insurance Market Reforms: Pre-Existing Condition Exclusions

    Fact Sheet

    Insurers pursue multiple strategies to reduce the cost of covering enrollees with pre-existing conditions, or medical conditions and health problems that existed before the individual enrolled in a health plan. One strategy, the pre-existing condition exclusion, allows insurers to refuse to cover any costs associated with care for a pre-existing condition permanently or over a period of time. Beginning January 1, 2014, insurers in the individual and group markets will be prohibited from imposing pre-existing…

  • Table

    Other Post

    SUMMARY OF CALIFORNIA VERSUS THE U KEY HEALTH CARE FACTS IN CALIFORNIA AND THE U.S. California U.S. Percentage uninsured (non-elderly) (1998) 24.4% 18.3% Percentage of children uninsured (1998) 20.8% 15.5% Percentage of non-elderly enrolled in Medicaid: 1998 11.1% 8.4% 1994 14.3% 10.0% Percentage of employers that offer health insurance (1999) 48% 61% Percentage of workers with access to coverage for "non-traditional" partners (1999) 31% 18% Average monthly HMO premium for family coverage (1999) $405 $445…

  • Private Long-Term Care Insurance:  Who Should Buy It and What Should They Buy?

    Report

    Private Long-Term Care Insurance: Who Should Buy It and What Should They Buy? Despite the growing interest in private long-term care insurance (LTCI), there has been little independent examination of how much protection LTCI policies provide consumers or whether LTCI policies are a worthwhile purchase for people of average means. This report draws on data from the 1998 Survey of Consumer Finances (SCF) and the 1996 Medical Expenditures Panel Survey (MEPS) to explore the feasibility…