Work, Health, And Insurance: A Shifting Landscape For Employers And Workers Alike.
We examined the complex relationship among work, health, and health insurance, which has been affected by changing demographics and employment conditions in the United States. Stagnation or deterioration in employment conditions and wages for much of the workforce has been accompanied by the erosion of health outcomes and employer-sponsored insurance coverage. In this article we present data and discuss the research that has established these links, and we assess the potential impact of policy responses to the evolving landscape of work and health. The expansion of insurance availability under the Affordable Care Act may have helped reduce the burden on employers to provide health insurance. However, the act's encouragement of wellness programs has uncertain potential to help contain the rising costs of employer-sponsored health benefits.
Thomas C. Buchmueller (tbuch@umich.edu) is the Waldo O. Hildebrand Professor of Risk Management and Insurance at the Ross School of Business, University of Michigan, in Ann Arbor.
Thomas C
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Buchmueller
Robert G. Valletta is vice president of research communications in the Economic Research Department of the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco, in California.
Robert G
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Valletta
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D004651:Employment / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D005260:Female; D006264:Health Benefit Plans, Employee / Q000191:economics; D006291:Health Policy; D006304:Health Status; D006801:Humans; D019458:Insurance Coverage / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D058991:Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act; D012456:Salaries and Fringe Benefits / Q000191:economics; D014481:United States; D055815:Young Adult
Demography; Employer-Based System < Insurance; Health Economics