Employer-sponsored insurance on downward trend

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Employer-sponsored insurance continues its declining trend during the last few years, as fewer than half of Americans received their health insurance from an employer in 2011.

A Gallup survey released Tuesday showed that 44.6 percent of Americans received health insurance from an employer last year, down from 45.8 percent in 2010 and 49.2 percent in 2008, reported Politico.

That amounts to a 1.2 percent drop since 2010 and a nearly 5 percent decrease since 2008, according to the Washington Times.

Meanwhile, the number of uninsured Americans continues to increase, soaring to 17.1 percent this year, which Gallup said is the highest uninsured rate since 2008.

High-income Americans who earn at least $90,000 a year were most likely (70.4 percent) to be insured through an employer-based plan, while Americans earning less than $36,000 a year were least likely (23.7 percent) to receive insurance through their employer, Politico noted.

The Gallup poll suggests that more employees are working part time instead of full time so they aren't eligible for employer-based insurance. And employers likely are offering less coverage while employees likely are less able to afford the coverage, the Times noted.

To learn more:
- see the Gallup survey
- read the Politico article
- check out the Washington Times article

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