Overview

Employer-sponsored and -financed health insurance provides the foundation for coverage of working-age Americans and their dependents. Today, 155 million Americans under age 65—two of three (65%) in this age group—have job-based health coverage. Yet despite tight labor markets, this foundation fails to cover a sizable portion of the workforce: 44 million were uninsured in 1998, the vast majority of whom were working or were dependents of workers.

The steady rise in the numbers of uninsured Americans, despite strong economic growth, has revived national interest in health insurance system reforms that could improve coverage for working men and women. Key to the development of reforms that match the needs and preferences of workers is a better understanding of who is and is not well-served by the current employer-based system, how people perceive the performance of this system, and how they feel about various proposals to expand coverage for workers and their families.

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