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Who Has a Choice of Health Plans? Issue Brief No. 27 |
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Tracking Small-Firm Coverage, 1989-1996 Health Affairs |
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Small Employers and Their Health Benefits, 1988-1996:
An Awkward Adolescence
September/October 1997
Health Affairs, vol.16, no.5 (September/October 1997): 103-110
Jon R. Gabel, Paul B. Ginsburg, Kelly A. Hunt
mall employers are less likely to offer insurance, and their
employees are less likely to accept it. Analysis of the period 1988 to 1996 reveals trends
that may explain some of the backlash against managed care - which now has a dominant
share of the small-employer market. Choice of plan type has increased at small firms, but
choice of medical providers has decreased. Premiums are about the same for large and small
firms, but benefits are lower and deductibles higher for small employers. Moreover,
employees in small firms pay a larger portion of the premium, especially in managed care
plans as compared to conventional plans.
Free access to this article is available at the Health Affairs Web site.
