title: Active and retired public employees' health insurance: potential data sources.
abstract: Employer-provided health insurance for public sector workers is a significant public policy issue. Underfunding and the growing costs of benefits may hinder the fiscal solvency of state and local governments. Findings from the private sector may not be applicable because many public sector workers are covered by union contracts or salary schedules and often benefit modifications require changes in legislation. Research has been limited by the difficulty in obtaining sufficiently large and representative data on public sector employees. This article highlights data sources researchers might utilize to investigate topics concerning health insurance for active and retired public sector employees.
authors.affiliation: North Carolina State University, USA. Electronic address: melinda_morrill@ncsu.edu.
authors.forename: Melinda Sandler
authors.initials: MS
authors.lastname: Morrill
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D016208:Databases, Factual; D006264:Health Benefit Plans, Employee / Q000191:economics*; D006801:Humans; D019458:Insurance Coverage; D007348:Insurance, Health / Q000191:economics; D008875:Middle Aged; D017150:Public Sector; D012179:Retirement; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014481:United States; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Data; Employee benefits; Health insurance; Public sector; Retiree health insurance