Playing by the rules and losing: health insurance and the working poor

Using a sample of 7,734 employed adults from the National Medical Expenditure Survey, this research compares the sources of health insurance coverage and the antecedents of employer-sponsored insurance among the working poor to those at higher income thresholds. Concern with the working poor is warranted because they constitute the majority of the uninsured, they do not qualify for public health programs, and their health insurance benefits have eroded substantially. The data reveal that (1) the working poor are only one-third as likely to receive insurance from their employer as are the non-poor, and are over five times as likely to be without insurance from any source; (2) employment characteristics are critical antecedents of employer-sponsored insurance and, as a set, explain variation in coverage beyond that provided by human capital/socioeconomic factors; and (3) most employment characteristics have a similar effect on the odds of coverage across income categories, except for unionization and minimum wages. Implications for health care reform are addressed.