January 7th, 2009

coverage has dropped for the new year according

Posted in General

Health insurance coverage has dropped for the new year according to a study released by the Employee Benefit Research Institute. Though in the prior year coverage had minimally increased, current year statistics show a clear decline. In the recently released report, the number of people covered by employer sponsored health care plans will decrease this year. The overall count of coverage by employers’ coverages has dropped since 2000, but there has been an increase in individual health insurance coverage. It has been argued that with a stronger economy earlier in the year, people were able to afford to buy their own health care coverage.

The Kansas City Star suggests that a stronger economy in the past year combined with low unemployment rates allowed more workers the ability to purchase their own plans. With today’s economic situation becoming more dire by the day, unemployment is rising. And the ability of workers to purchase their own health care coverage is clearly waning. Work loss not withstanding, higher food prices, higher gas prices and families struggling to pay mortgages are all causes for health insurance coverage to be amongst the first to be cut from a family’s budget.