Does health insurance reduce illness-related worker absenteeism? (original) (raw)
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Employers’ Benefits from Workers’ Health Insurance
Milbank Quarterly, 2003
M ost nonelderly americans receive their health insurance coverage through their workplace. Almost all large firms offer a health insurance plan, and even though they face greater barriers to providing coverage, so do the majority of very small firms. These employment-based plans cover two-thirds of nonelderly Americans and pay most of working families' expenses for health care and about one-quarter of national health spending. Despite employers' role in the health insurance market, however, very little attention has been paid to employers' motivations for providing health insurance to workers. Why do employers offer health insurance to workers? Is it because workers want it? Because their unions demand it? Or do employers offer health benefits to workers because their productivity and profitability depend on it?
Insuring Success: Unpacking the Health Insurance Productivity Paradox
Insurance & Financing in Health Care eJournal, 2024
This study employs quantitative longitudinal analysis utilizing the Survey of Income and Program Participation (SIPP) data to explore the dynamic relationship between private health insurance, worker demographics, employment characteristics, and workplace outcomes. This study unveils the complex web of factors influencing sickness absenteeism and productivity by exercising fixed effects regression and Sobel tests to investigate interactions among 13 variables. These findings underscore the substantial impact of employment characteristics and private health insurance on these outcomes, shedding light on the intricate interplay between these elements. Notably, this study reveals that private health insurance acts as a partial mediator, elucidating its role in shaping observed relationships. These results emphasize the critical role of comprehensive health insurance coverage for all workers, urging businesses and policymakers to adopt proactive measures that promote a healthier and more productive workforce.
LABOR MARKET EFFECTS OF EMPLOYER-PROVIDED HEALTH INSURANCE
Economic Inquiry, 2007
This is an experimental study in economics of mandated benefits. Most individuals who have health insurance in the US obtain it through their employer. Some states either have or are considering government mandates that require employers to provide insurance to all full-time workers. We use an experimental laboratory to investigate possible effects of alternative health insurance regulations on the competitive labor market performance. We find that mandating the insurance for all workers creates labor market distortions; whereas mandating the insurance only for full-time workers leads to a higher coverage then under no mandate, an increased number of part-time workers, but does not necessarily lower market efficiency.
2000
Americans under the age of 65 depend on employers for their health insurance coverage more than any other source. Despite mounting rhetoric that employer-based coverage is rapidly disintegrating, nearly all large firms in the United States continue to offer health benefits to their employees. But there are key weaknesses in employer-provided coverage. These weaknesses, exacerbated by rising health care costs, have fueled the relentless rise in the number of people without comprehensive health insurance-now 47 million people, not counting the estimated 16 million adults who are underinsured.
Job-Based Health Insurance: Costs Climb At A Moderate Pace
Health Affairs, 2009
Each year the Kaiser/HRET Survey of Employer Health Benefits takes a snapshot of the state of employee benefits in the United States, based on interviews with public and private employers. Our findings for 2009 show that families continue to face higher premiums, up about 5 percent from last year, and that cost sharing in the form of deductibles and copayments for office visits is greater as well. Average annual premiums in 2009 were 4,824forsinglecoverageand4,824 for single coverage and 4,824forsinglecoverageand13,375 for family coverage. Enrollment in highdeductible health plans held steady. We offer new insights about health risk assessments and how firms responded to the economic downturn. [
Workers Who Decline Employment-Related Health Insurance
Medical Care, 2006
Background: Families of workers who decline coverage represent a substantial share of the uninsured and publicly-insured population in the United States. Objective: We examined health status, access to health care, utilization, and expenditures among families that declined health insurance coverage offered by employers using data from the Medical Expenditure Panel Survey for 2001 and 2002. Results: We found differences in insurance status for adults and children among families with offers. We found that among low-income families with offers, children are less likely to have private insurance compared with adults. However, the majority of children who decline private insurance end up with public coverage, whereas most of adults who decline offers remain uninsured. Decliners are more likely to report poor health, yet they are also less likely to have high cost medical conditions. Families declining coverage have weaker preferences for insurance than families that take up. Although access to care is lower among the decliners who remain uninsured, decliners with public insurance have similar access to care as those with private insurance. Families turning down coverage are more likely to face high expenditure burdens as a percentage of income and more likely to have financial barriers to care. Families who decline coverage rely heavily on the safety net. Public sources and uncompensated care account for 72% of total expenditures among adults who decline coverage. Conclusions: Our results suggest that policy initiatives aimed at increasing take up among workers need to take into account the incentives workers face given the availability of care through public sources and uncompensated care.