Workers Prefer Employer-Provided Health Insurance, Survey Finds

Listening to Workers: Findings From The Commonwealth Fund 1999 National Survey of Workers’ Health Insurance, reports a consensus among adults aged 18 to 64 that employers are the best candidates to provide health coverage to Americans. The Commonwealth Fund commissioned Princeton Survey Research Associates to interview 5,002 people by telephone about their experiences with health care and their opinions as to who should provide it. “When asked about options for reform,” the report notes, “survey participants were nearly unanimously in favor of policies that would open doors to employer-based coverage.” Among the findings of the survey: One-third of workers who earn less than $20,000 and who are employed by large, private companies reported that no plan was available to them; and 85 percent of all people surveyed said they would favor government assistance to help low-wage workers buy into their employers’ health plans. Publisher: Commonwealth Fund, 1 East 75th Street, New York 10021-2692; (212) 606-3800 or (888) 777-2744; fax (212) 606-3500; cmwf@cmwf.org; http://www.cmwf.org; 55 pages; free; ask for publication 362.