Improve American Health Care by Moving Away From Employer-Sponsored Insurance

AJMC October 30, 2024
David B. Muhlestein, PhD, JD

The US should consider reducing or eliminating employer-sponsored insurance. Here are some ways to do it efficiently.

Health care financed by insurance represents a major portion of the economy in America,¹ and more than half of people with insurance are covered by their employer.² For employers, approximately 30% of employee expenses go to benefits, of which health insurance is the largest component.³ Collectively, this is more than $1 trillion a year in employer-sponsored insurance (ESI) expenses.¹ The major problem with this is that ESI leads to lower-quality, higher-cost health care while hurting the employer’s productivity. In this perspective, I build the case that ESI should end in the US.

Employers Do a Poor Job of Managing Health Care Costs

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