Two new studies have shown that when compared to ten years ago, fewer Americans are receiving health coverage through their employers, but that the U.S. healthcare law of 2010 should assist with the stability of insurance sponsored by employers.
The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, a non-partisan organization, sponsored the studies and will contribute to the current debates regarding the effect that President Obama’s healthcare changes will have on health insurance that is employer-sponsored. This is because the research indicated that under the new law, 30 percent of employers may decide to eliminate their coverage.
The University of Minnesota’s State Health Access Data Center released a report that indicated that there are approximately 7.3 million fewer people in the United States in 2009 with health insurance that was employer-sponsored than there were in the year 2000.
It showed that in 2000, approximately 69 percent of Americans who were not elderly received medical coverage through their employers, but that this number had fallen to 61 percent by 2009. The study indicated that employees of small businesses with an income in the low to moderate range were those who were the most likely to have lost their health benefits.
The Urban Institute, a centrist organization, performed the second study, which indicated that incentives such as taxes within the new healthcare law, that started in 2010, will likely help to boost the number of small businesses that provide their employees with medical insurance. At the same time, larger organizations were more likely to have maintained their healthcare insurance than small businesses, and it is anticipated that this will continue.
