US small businesses increasingly dropping employee health insurance

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It has never been more difficult for employers to offer health insurance for their workers. That’s especially true for America’s small businesses, the backbones of entire communities. More and more, they’re giving up entirely.

America’s employer-based health insurance system — the dominant form of coverage for people younger than 65 — is crumbling. The percentage of working-age adults who get their health coverage from a job has declined from 67% in 1998 to about 60% . It’s also more expensive than ever . STAT interviewed dozens of people across the country as part of a series that probes how and why this is happening. Panic, despair, and anger are most apparent among smaller shops and firms.

Small business owners and workers feel as though most, if not all, of their options are unaffordable, especially if they have plans with high out-of-pocket costs. Rising premiums — driven by high prices for hospitals, doctors, and prescription drugs and more intensive care — are eating into bottom lines and paychecks. Desperate companies are getting rid of traditional health benefits at an unprecedented pace. This shift is fraying the uniquely American expectation that jobs come with protection for injuries and illnesses — an expectation that is the product of World War II wage controls, industry opposition to government health care, and the biggest break in the tax code.

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