Substantial Churn In Health Insurance Offerings By Small Employers, 2014-15

Area of Science:

• Health economics
• Insurance market dynamics
• Small business studies

Background:

• Small employers face unique challenges in providing health insurance.
• Understanding insurance offer dynamics is crucial for workforce health and economic stability.

Purpose of the Study:

• To analyze the extent of change in health insurance offers by small employers.
• To quantify the churn rate in insurance provision among small businesses.

Main Methods:

• Utilized longitudinal data from the Medical Expenditure Panel Survey-Insurance Component (MEPS-IC) for 2014-2015.
• Analyzed data from employers with fifty or fewer workers.

Main Results:

• 14.6% of small employers that offered insurance in 2014 discontinued it in 2015.
• 5.5% of small employers that did not offer insurance in 2014 initiated coverage in 2015.

Conclusions:

• Small employer insurance markets exhibit considerable instability.
• These findings highlight the dynamic nature of employer-sponsored health insurance for small businesses.