SECTION2. HEALTHBENEFITSOFFERRATES Section2 HealthBenefitsOfferRates Whilenearlyalllargefirms(200ormoreworkers)offerhealthbenefitstoatleastsomeemployees,smallfirms(3-199 workers)aresignificantlylesslikelytodoso. Thepercentageofallfirmsofferinghealthbenefitsin2017(53%)issimilartothe percentageoffirmsofferinghealthbenefitslastyear(56%),butlowerthanthepercentagesoffirmsofferinghealthbenefitsin 2007(59%)and2012(61%). Aswereportedlastyear,therehasbeenalong-termdeclineintheofferandcoverageratesfor 1 employer-providedcoverage,particularlyamongsmallerfirms. Firmsnotofferinghealthbenefitscontinuetocitecostasthemostimportantreasontheydonotdoso. Almostallfirmsthat offercoverageoffertodependentssuchaschildrenandthespousesofeligibleemployees. FIRMOFFERRATES • In 2017, 53%offirmsofferhealthbenefits,similartothe56%whoreporteddoingsoin2016[Figure2.1]. – Ninety-ninepercentoflargefirmsofferhealthbenefitstoatleastsomeoftheirworkers. Incontrast,only53% of small firmsofferhealthbenefitsin2017[Figures2.2and2.3]. Thepercentagesofbothsmallandlargefirms offeringhealthbenefitstoatleastsomeoftheirworkersaresimilartothoseoflastyear[Figure2.2]. – Theoverallpercentageoffirmsofferingcoveragein2017islessthanthepercentageofferingcoveragein2012 (61%)and2007(59%)[Figure2.1]. Aswereportedlastyear,therehasbeenalong-termdeclineintheofferand coverageratesforemployer-providedcoverage,particularlyamongsmallerfirms. – Sincemostfirmsinthecountryaresmall,variationintheoverallofferrateisdrivenlargelybychangesinthe percentagesofthesmallestfirms(3-9workers)offeringhealthbenefits. Formoreinformationonthedistribution 2 of firmsinthecountry,seetheSurveyDesignandMethodsSectionandFigureM.4. – Ninety-sixpercentoffirmswith100ormoreworkersofferhealthbenefitstoatleastsomeoftheirworkersin2017. Ninetypercentoffirmswith50-99workersofferbenefitstoatleastsomeworkers[Figure2.4]. – Eighty-ninepercentofallworkersareemployedbyafirmthatoffershealthbenefitstoatleastsomeofitsworkers [Figure 2.26]. • Offerratesvaryacrossdifferenttypesoffirms. – Smallerfirmsarelesslikelytoofferhealthinsurance: 40%offirmswith3-9workersoffercoverage,comparedto 78%offirmswith25-49workers,and92%offirmswith50-199workers[Figure2.3]. – Offerratesthroughoutdifferentfirmsizecategoriesin2017remainsimilartothosereportedin2016[Figure2.2]. 1 Kaiser Family Foundation. Diminishingofferandcoverageratesamongprivatesectoremployees[Internet]. MenloPark,(CA):KFF;2016Sep[cited2017Jul13]. Availablefrom: http://www.kff.org/private-insurance/issue-brief/diminishing-offer-and-coverage-rates-among-private-sector-employees/ 2 Becausesurveysonlycollectinformationfromaportionofthetotalnumberoffirmsinthecountry,thereisuncertaintyinanyestimate. Sincethereareso manysmallfirms,sometimesevenseeminglylargedifferencesarenotstatisticallydifferent. FormoreinformationontheEmployerHealthBenefitsSurvey’s weightinganddesignpleaseseetheSurveyDesignandMethodssection. The Kaiser Family Foundation and Health Research & Educational Trust / Page 38