In my last post, I stressed that a significant and politically powerful subset of the 156-odd million Americans who get health insurance through employers have coverage way better than the norm. Those with the most generous employer-sponsored coverage (ESI) might be averse to transitioning to a public plan with significant cost sharing -- say, to a plan with coverage comparable to a typical Medicare Advantage plan.
Out-of-pocket costs for enrollees in ESI have risen rapidly in recent years; premiums have risen more slowly, but steadily. Nonetheless, a lot of people have coverage a good deal more generous than the norms reported in the Kaiser Family Foundation's 2018 Employer Health Benefits Survey -- e.g., deductibles well below the $1,573 average for single coverage, and premiums well below the $99 per month average for single and $462/month average for family coverage.
The figures below**, taken from the Kaiser survey, highlight benefits enjoyed by insured employees with the most generous coverage.
Out-of-pocket costs for enrollees in ESI have risen rapidly in recent years; premiums have risen more slowly, but steadily. Nonetheless, a lot of people have coverage a good deal more generous than the norms reported in the Kaiser Family Foundation's 2018 Employer Health Benefits Survey -- e.g., deductibles well below the $1,573 average for single coverage, and premiums well below the $99 per month average for single and $462/month average for family coverage.
The figures below**, taken from the Kaiser survey, highlight benefits enjoyed by insured employees with the most generous coverage.
- For 12% of covered workers, the employer pays 100% of the premium for single coverage. Another 8% of workers in single coverage pay less than $500 per year. Just 3% of covered workers pay nothing for family coverage; another 4%, pay under $1500 annually.
