Uninsured Unchanged in 2004, But Employment-Based Health Coverage Declined

The data provided in this paper provide an early look at the effect of a relatively weak labor market, combined with rising health benefit costs, on the number of individuals residing in the United States who have employment-based health benefits, who are covered by public programs, and who are uninsured in 2004. Initial findings indicate that the decline in the percentage of individuals with employment-based health benefits was due to the erosion of coverage among both workers and nonworkers. In response to the weak labor market and rising health benefit costs, small employers either continued to drop health benefits or required workers to pay more for health benefits when they were offered. Expected trends in health insurance and technical issues in counting the uninsured will be discussed more fully in EBRI's November 2005 Issue Brief titled Sources of Health Insurance and Characteristics of the Uninsured: Analysis of the March 2005 Current Population Survey