The decline signals that about 494,000 fewer Pennsylvanians get health insurance through their employer today than did in 2000. One in seven of the people who lost employer-provided health insurance coverage in the U.S. between 2000 and 2004 lived in Pennsylvania.
Mark Price, a labor economist at the Keystone Research Center, says, "Ask most people what they think a good job is and you'll hear them answer 'one that provides health insurance.' By this widely accepted measure, the quality of many jobs in Pennsylvania has declined over the last five years."
He adds, "The loss of employer-provided health insurance is clearly a financial challenge for middle-class families. We have created a world-class health system that too few businesses and families can afford."
In the United States as a whole, over the last four years, about 3.7 million fewer people had employer-provided health insurance, while Medicaid, including the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP), increased nation wide by nearly eight million participants. A significant shift from private sector coverage to public sector coverage, especially in the case of children.
