More workers not insured at large US companies
( 2003-10-23 10:42) (Xinhua)
The percentage of uninsured workers in large US companies climbed to 11
percent from 7 percent between 1987 and 2001, The Wall Street Journal reported
Wednesday.
The report suggested the study result was unexpected because a company with
more than 1,000 employees is much more likely to provide health coverage than a
business of fewer than 25 people.
"Large companies have long formed the bedrock of the US system of
employer-sponsored health insurance," said the report.
Roughly one out of four people without health coverage in the United States,
which is about 10 million people, work part time or full time at companies with
500 or more workers, or are dependents of these workers, the study showed.
The report said as employers' health-care costs continue to soar, many are
pushing benefits out of the reach of some low- income employees with stricter
eligibility criteria and higher premium contributions for
workers.
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