Commonwealth Fund January 12, 2022
Toplines
Employer health coverage fell only slightly during the pandemic, but U.S. median family incomes are not keeping pace with rising health plan costs and deductibles
In 2020, health insurance premium and deductible costs together consumed 11.6 percent of median U.S. household income, compared to 9.1 percent in 2010
Introduction
More than a decade after passage of the Affordable Care Act (ACA), employer health insurance coverage remains the backbone of health insurance in the United States, covering more than half of Americans under age 65 — about 163 million people.1 This coverage has proved to be resilient in the COVID-19 pandemic.
Only about 6 percent of working-age adults reported losing their employer insurance during the pandemic-induced recession.2 Among those who...