Health Insurance and The Economy

Health Insurance and The Economy in Group Health Insurance

In 2007, more Americans had health insurance than 2006. But what’s the outlook for 2008?

Not good, says a report from the Employee Benefit Research Institute (EBRI).

The non-profit research organization just released the report today that shows that the number of people covered with an employer-sponsored health insurance plan will most likely drop this year.

The number of Americans with an employer’s coverage has decreased since 2000, but that was matched with an increase in the number of people who found coverage in the individual health insurance market.

With a stronger economy, people could afford their own plans, reported the Kansas City Star.

“The increase came hand-in-hand with a strong economy and low unemployment rates which caused more employers to provide health benefits in order to attract and retain workers, and also may have resulted in more workers being able to afford health insurance,” said the EBRI report.

Today, that’s not so much the case.

These days with the economy on the downswing, unemployment rate is way up and fewer people will be able to afford coverage on their own.

That combined with the fact that gas prices and food prices are the highest they’ve ever been, and people are struggling to keep their mortgages, it’s no shock that paying for health insurance is the first to be cut from a family’s budget.

Comments[0]