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Percent of workers in establishments that offer coverage

Measure Overview

Employer-sponsored insurance (ESI) is health insurance coverage offered to qualified employees by employers; ESI has historically covered the majority of the U.S. population, with 61.7% of the non-elderly population enrolled in ESI in 2024.

However, not all employers offer health insurance coverage to their employees, which may present challenges to individuals who must seek health coverage elsewhere or be uninsured. Tracking rates of workers offered insurance coverage by their employer allows researchers and policymakers to identify states and populations that have lower access to employer coverage and to consider policies to expand access or assist individuals in enrolling in coverage elsewhere.

Percent of Workers in Establishments that Offer Health Insurance Coverage by State: Breakdowns and Data Source

State Health Compare provides annual, state-level rates of workers in establishments that offer coverage using data from the Medical Expenditure Panel Survey Insurance Component (MEPS-IC).

This measure can be broken down by firm size: Fewer Than 50 Employees and Greater Than 50 Employees.

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Notes

The margin of error (MOE) represents the uncertainty of an estimate due to sampling variability; the calculated MOE is 95%. N/A indicates that data were not available or suppressed by AHRQ due to large standard errors. The MEPS/IC did not collect data for 2007. Data collection for the 2020 MEPS/IC was impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic which may have impacted 2020 estimates. More information about changes made to the 2020 survey methodology is available in AHRQ Methodology Report 34, "Sample Design of the 2020 Medical Expenditure Panel Survey Insurance Component."

As SHADAC and other organizations have documented, due to the unprecedented pandemic and subsequent economic disruption in 2020, there is some uncertainty in the estimates of employer-based health insurance rates from the 2020 MEPS-IC. Researchers should approach using 2020 data with caution, and SHADAC will continue to monitor any future changes to federal data releases directly or indirectly related to the pandemic.

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