What is Causing the Increase in the Number of Uninsured People?
There is no simple answer to this complex question. Again, one of the most important facts to consider is that so many workers do not have the opportunity to get health care coverage through their employment. In 2007, fully one-third of companies in the U.S. did not offer any type of health care coverage. For small business employees, the numbers are even more grim. Nearly 38% of all workers are employed by a small business, and less than 2/3 of these companies offer any health benefits to their employees. From 2000-2005, it has been estimated that nearly 266,000 companies dropped their health care coverage and 90% of those firms had less than 25 employees. The rising cost of health insurance premiums is another important factor why so many companies do not offer employee coverage. While inflation has risen annually at about 2.5%, the cost of health insurance premiums for small businesses has escalated at a dramatic 12% annually! If employees are fortunate enough to be offered health c
