Employer-sponsored health insurance declines in Wisconsin

A new report by the Center on Wisconsin Strategy (COWS) indicates a decline in the number of state residents covered by employer-sponsored health insurance (ESI).
From 2000-2009, the total number of Wisconsin adults with ESI fell by 318,000, a decline of 9 percent. An even larger decline of 10.2 percent was posted by the state’s children. Poverty-wage workers are least likely to be covered by ESI, at a rate of only 26 percent, placing those workers at a high risk of going without any health insurance coverage whatsoever.
Nevertheless, the study shows that, relative to the rest of the nation, Wisconsin is faring well in terms of ESI coverage. In 2008-2009, 69 percent of Wisconsin’s population younger than 65 had health insurance. That rate is sixth-highest in the country for overall coverage and well above the nationwide rate of 60 percent.
For more information on the report, visit www.cows.org/pdf/bp-ESI.pdf.