40% of employees would quit for comparable insurance

“More than half (56 percent) say they have considered leaving their jobs to do something more personal or meaningful but didn’t because they need the health insurance they currently purchase in the workplace,” said Michelle Hall, manager of market research for Securian. “Of that group, more than two-fifths (43 percent) say they would start their own businesses.”

Another 16 percent who have considered quitting say they would work in a field they prefer where jobs typically provide little or no health insurance, she added.

Forty-three percent of those surveyed said they have turned down job offers because the health insurance benefits didn’t meet their needs. Nearly one-half of married respondents (46 percent) refused job offers because of unacceptable health insurance coverage, compared to about one-third (34 percent) of single people.

However, there likely is a gap between daydreaming about starting a business and actually taking the risk of doing so. The survey summary cites several key indicators for human resources professionals to monitor moving forward:

• How will employers modify their benefit packages, and how will that affect workers’ decisions to quit or stay on the job?
• Where will the average price points for health insurance for various households emerge on the cost scale under PPACA?
• Will workers pursue their dreams of self-employment, creating new jobs to offset some of the estimated two-million full-time employees who may leave the work force by 2024?