Paying more and losing ground: How employer cost-shifting is eroding health coverage of working families

This report describes the decline in employer-based health coverage between 1989 and 1996 and the underlying causes of that decline-including rapidly rising worker premiums and other economic variables. The analysis combines data from a variety of sources, including the U.S. Census Bureau's Current Population Survey, the National Medical Expenditures Survey for workers wit h employer coverage, and annual KPMG Feat Marwick Surveys. The authors empl oyed regression analysis to determine the relative importance of economic f actors on an individual's probability of having employer-based coverage-as either a worker or dependent. In addition to providing a basis for measurin g the impact of various factors on the level of coverage of workers and dep endents during the 1989 to 1996 period, these models also allowed projectio n of coverage levels in future years under alternative assumptions about pr emium growth, employee contribution shares, and other economic factors.