A new survey finds that the percentage of workers who have health insurance through their employer has remained stable since the full implementation of the Affordable Care Act (ACA). The data come from the Health Reform Monitoring Survey, which is funded by the Urban Institute and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, and show that even workers most likely to lose employer-sponsored insurance—e.g., low-income individuals and people who work for small businesses, among others—have kept their insurance.
Before implementation of the ACA, concerns were raised that insurance marketplaces and expanded Medicaid programs could mean fewer Americans would obtain insurance through their employers. Researchers at the Urban Institute found that 72 percent of all nonelderly employees obtained insurance through their job in March 2016, comparable to pre-ACA figures. Fifty percent of workers at small businesses and 46 percent of workers in low-income families still get insurance through their jobs, figures that are also consistent with pre-ACA data.
“Concerns about employer-sponsored health insurance evaporating after the implementation of health reform have not materialized,” said Kathy Hempstead of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. “Time will tell if the Affordable Care Act leads to fewer people with insurance through their jobs, but as of now, the law has had little to no effect on employer-sponsored insurance.”
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If you would like to discuss the findings or schedule an interview, please contact Rachel Griffith at 202-868-4824 or [email protected].
About the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation
For more than 40 years the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation has worked to improve health and health care. We are working with others to build a national Culture of Health enabling everyone in America to live longer, healthier lives. For more information, visit www.rwjf.org. Follow the Foundation on Twitter at www.rwjf.org/twitter or on Facebook at www.rwjf.org/facebook.
