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Health insurance provided by employers is the primary source of medical coverage for most Americans under age 65. The cost of employer-sponsored health insurance coverage varies considerably depending upon where one lives and on the number of persons covered by the plan. This Statistical Brief presents state variations from the national average of the cost of job-related health insurance and how these costs are shared by employers and their employees. The Brief specifically examines the average premiums and employee contributions for private sector establishments in 2009 in the 10 most populous states based on the 2000 Decennial Census, using the most recent data available from the Insurance Component of the Medical Expenditure Panel Survey (MEPS-IC). Estimates for all other states and the District of Columbia are available on the MEPS Web site (www.meps.ahrq.gov).

Health insurance provided by employers is a key source of coverage for employees and their families. In 2006, more private sector employees obtained non-single coverage health insurance (a plan covering the employee and at least one other family member) through their employers than single, self-only coverage. According to the Insurance Component of the Medical Expenditure Panel Survey (MEPS-IC), those employees with non-single coverage contributed both a larger dollar amount and a larger percentage of the total premium for their coverage than did employees with single coverage. Non-single health insurance plans encompass two types of coverage: family coverage and employee-plus-one coverage. Prior to 2001, MEPS-IC collected only information on family coverage plans. Information related to coverage for a family of four was collected in cases where multiple pricing levels were offered to employees. Beginning in 2001, separate data were also collected for employee-plus-one coverage. Not all employers who offer family coverage provide the alternative of an employee-plus-one policy for employees with just one family member to insure. However, when available for the same level of benefits, employee-plus-one plan premiums are less expensive than family plans. This Statistical Brief presents estimates on the selection and cost of single, employee-plus-one, and family health insurance coverage in 2006. Only differences that are statistically significant at the 0.05 significance level are discussed in the text.

Employer-sponsored health insurance for current workers is one of the primary sources of health insurance coverage in the United States. According to data from the Insurance Component of the 2009 Medical Expenditure Panel Survey (MEPS-IC), approximately 96.8 million of the 110.5 million employees from the private sector worked in firms where the employer offered health insurance. Of those employees who worked where health insurance was offered, approximately 59.1 million were enrolled. About 29.8 million employees (27 percent) worked for small private sector employers in 2009 across eight industry classifications (figure 1) and approximately 10.6 million of them were enrolled. This Statistical Brief presents estimates, by industry classification, on the percentage of employees who worked for small private employers (firms with fewer than 50 employees) who offered health insurance and of employees working in such firms who enrolled in offered health insurance plans. The Brief also provides estimates on average premiums and the average employee contributions towards premiums for single coverage and for family coverage. Only those estimates that had a statistically significant difference from the national average at the 0.05 percent significance level are noted in the text. Although a large percentage of private sector employees worked where health insurance was offered in 2009, small private sector employers were much less likely to offer health insurance than other firms or governments. Among these small employers, the offer and enrollment rates varied considerably by industry.

Employer-sponsored health insurance for current workers is one of the primary sources of health insurance coverage in the United States. According to data from the Insurance Component of the 2009 Medical Expenditure Panel Survey (MEPS-IC), approximately 96.8 million of the 110.5 million private sector employees worked in firms where the employer offered health insurance. Of those employees, approximately 59.1 million enrolled in a health insurance plan. About 80.7 million employees (73 percent) worked for large private sector employers in 2009 across eight industry classifications (figure 1) and approximately 48.6 million of them were enrolled. This Statistical Brief presents estimates, by industry classification, on the percentage of employees who worked for large private employers (firms with 50 or more employees) who offered health insurance and of employees working in such firms who enrolled in offered health insurance plans. The Brief also provides estimates on average premiums and the average employee contributions towards premiums for single coverage and for family coverage. Only those estimates that had a statistically significant difference from the national average at the 0.05 percent significance level are noted in the text.

This Statistical Brief presents state variations from the national average of the cost of job-related health insurance and how these costs are shared by employers and their employees. The brief specifically examines the average premiums and employee contributions for private sector establishments in 2006 in the 10 most populous states based on the 2000 Decennial Census, using the most recent data available from the Insurance Component of the Medical Expenditure Panel Survey (MEPS-IC).