Demographic change in a corporate health benefits population, 1983-87

This paper describes changes in the population for which General Motors provides health benefits using data from domestic personnel records. Total population size grew from 2.01 million in 1983 to 2.14 million in 1987, twice as fast as the US population. Dependents, particularly spouses, fueled the population growth. Trends suggest that nonworker eligibility for employer-provided health benefits may receive more attention in health care cost containment efforts.