SELF INSURED EMPLOYER HEALTH PLANS - PREVALENCE, PROFILE, PROVISIONS,AND PREMIUMS

Data from three recent surveys indicate that about 40 percent of worke rs with employment-based health insurance are enrolled in plans that t heir employers self insure. Despite the considerable differences betwe en federal regulation of these self-insured plans and state regulation of employer plans purchased from an insurance company, we find striki ng similarities in the populations they serve, the benefits they offer , and their premium costs. Implications for health policy are discusse d.