Gallup Sees Drop in Group Health Enrollment

The percentage with group health coverage held steady at 49.2% for white people but fell 0.7 percentage points for black people, to 38.1%, and fell 5.9 percentage points for Asian people, to 50.8%.

Penetration decreased 1 percentage point for people making less than $36,000 per year, to 23.7%; 2.4 percentage points for people making $36,000 to $89,999 per year; and 0.8 percentage points for people making $90,000 or more per year.

A high unemployment was not the only culprit: Even among workers with full-time jobs, the percentage with group coverage fell to 70.9%, from 73.4%.

The drop in full-time workers’ group plan enrollment rate “could be for one of two reasons, and is likely a combination of both,” Mendes says. “Either some workers can no longer afford the rising cost of the health insurance the employer offers, or the employer is simply not offering health insurance any longer.”