The percentage of Americans receiving employer health insurance continues to decline, Gallup announced Friday.
In a survey of more than 90,000 U.S. adults, pollsters at Gallup and Healthways, Inc., found that 44.5 percent received health insurance from an employer — a 5 percent decline over the course of the last three years. A record-tying 17.3 percent of American adults, they say, have no health care of any sort.
According to Gallup, the decline in employer-based health insurance is attributable to numerous factors including rising unemployment and underemployment as well as an absolute drop in the number of employers offering insurance as a benefit.
While the percentage of adults aged 25–64 without health care increased, the percentage of uninsured young adults aged 16–24 decreased — a fact largely attributable to a provision in the 2010 Affordable Care Act, the controversial health care reform bill introduced by President Barack Obama, that allows young adults to remain on their parents' health care plans until the age of 26.
As Gallup.com notes, however, “none of the other components of the ACA ,” such as tax credits to help small businesses provide health insurance to their employees and the establishment of a Pre-Existing Condition Insurance Plan, “appear to be affecting coverage for older adults.”
