Summary
Lack of job-based health insurance does not affect just workers, but entire families who depend on job-based coverage for their health care. This policy brief uses 2007 California Health Interview Survey to analyze which nonelderly Californians were likely to lack access to job-based health coverage.
Findings: One-fifth of all Californians ages 0–64 who lived in households where at least one family member was employed did not have access to job-based coverage. Among adults with no access to job-based coverage through their own or a spouse’s job, nearly two-thirds remained uninsured. In contrast, the majority of children with no access to health insurance through a parent obtained public health insurance, highlighting the importance of such programs. Low-income, Latino and small business employees were more likely to lack access to job-based insurance. Provisions enacted under national health care reform (the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010) will aid some of these populations in accessing health insurance coverage.
