Who really has access to employer-provided health benefits? (EXCERPT), Monthly Labor Review Online, June 1995

Who really has access to employer-provided health benefits?

William J. Wiatrowski

T wo seemingly contradictory facts underlie the relationship between health care benefits and employment. Among nonelderly persons, employers are the most prevalent source of health care benefits. Yet, among those not covered, a large proportion are employed. These facts tend to place the links between employment and health coverage under close scrutiny during debates on health care reform.

Employer-provided health care plans have been the source of health care coverage for many employees and their families since World War II, but several limits on coverage and other restrictions exist.¹ This article explores the relationship between employer-provided health care benefits and the work force, concentrating on answers to the following questions:

How does the availability of employer-provided health care benefits vary by industry, occupation, establishment size, and other factors?
To what extent are employer-sponsored health care benefits available to dependents of employees? How are dependents defined and what limits are there on dependent coverage?
What barriers prevent employees from receiving health care benefits?
When employers offer health care benefits, do employees elect to take advantage of these benefits?

What effect does job switching have on the availability of health care benefits? How frequently are the service requirements and preexisting condition limitations imposed, and what effect do they have?

This excerpt is from an article published in the June 1995 issue of the Monthly Labor Review. The full text of the article is available in Adobe Acrobat's Portable Document Format (PDF). See How to view a PDF file for more information.

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Footnotes
¹ For more information on the history of employer-provided health care coverage, see Laura A. Scofea, "The development and growth of employer-provided health insurance," Monthly Labor Review, March 1994, pp. 3-10.

Related BLS programs
Employee Benefits Survey
Labor Force Statistics from the Current Population Survey

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