Posted on September 20, 2005

Health

While the percentage of people with job-based family health insurance coverage is declining in California, the overall uninsured rate has remained constant, according to a new report from the UCLA Center for Health Policy Research. Based on a survey of more than 42,000 households, The State of Health Insurance in California: Findings From the 2003 California Health Interview Survey (84 pages, PDF) provides an overview of job-based health coverage and the consequences of not having coverage for non-elderly Californians. Among other things, the report notes that during 2001-03, a 79.1 percent increase in the cost of health insurance for the average worker led to a decrease in job-based family coverage. Compensating for the decline in employer-sponsored plans, the enrollment of children in public insurance programs increased significantly. Funded by the California Endowment and the California Wellness Foundation, the report also profiles enrollees in public insurance programs such as Medi-Cal and Healthy Families, and discusses the advantages and disadvantages of public policy options to extend coverage to California's 6.6 million uninsured residents.