The Worst State In Providing Health Insurance
California among worst in providing health insurance through jobs
The percentage of Californians who get health insurance through their jobs is among the lowest in the country. Nationwide, about 63% of Americans have health policies offered by their employers. But in California, only 55.7% of workers were covered through their jobs last year, making it the state with the fifth-lowest level of employer-sponsored coverage according to the study by the Economic Policy Institute in Washington. The number of employers offering health insurance has fallen nationally in recent years due to rising premiums and the diminishing bargaining power of the average worker. Companies have responded to the pressure by requiring employees to pick up a larger portion of the tab, through higher co-payments and monthly contributions, and reducing benefits and coverage for spouses and children.
While low-wage workers had the lowest level of coverage, middle-wage employees in California saw the steepest decline in those offered insurance during the past five years. And more than 600,000 fewer children in California were covered by their parents’ insurance last year than in 2000.
In California, the problem is worse due to the sheer size of the population and the fact a large number of residents work in jobs that typically do not offer health insurance, such as agriculture, hospitality and the service industry. California, which has more than 6.5 million uninsured residents, is considered a leader among states proposing health reform. Everything that’s going on in the nation is going on in California in a big way - immigration, economic inequities, large employers, small employers. You have highly profitable companies and a lot who are just scrambling to get by,” states Jared Bernstein, senior economist with the Economic Policy Institute.
