The number of people covered by small employer health plans may have dropped faster in 2013 than in 2012.
Mark Farrah Associates in reporting plan enrollment numbers supporting that conclusion in a report based on health insurers’ Supplemental Health Care Exhibit filings.
Analysts at the firm found that the number of covered lives in small U.S. plans fell 5.7 percent between 2012 and 2013, to 17 million. Between 2011 and 2012, the number of lives fell just 3.2 percent.
Shrinkage in the number of small employers offering coverage moderated. The number of small plans fell just 6.3 percent between 2012 and 2013. Between 2011 and 2012, the number of small plans fell 8.8 percent.