More small Idaho employers shed health insurance in 2009, study says [The Idaho Statesman, Boise]

Feb. 26--The percentage of Idaho employers offering health insurance to full-time workers dropped to 56 percent in 2009, down from 63 percent in 2007 and 82 percent in 2002, a new study says.

Employers with fewer than 10 workers were by far the most likely to drop health insurance coverage, according to the 2009 Idaho Fringe Benefit Survey released Friday by the state Department of Labor. The percentage of businesses with more than 10 employees offering health insurance was essentially unchanged from 2007.

Part-time workers are in the worst position. Access to health insurance through the workplace during 2009 was substantially lower for part-time workers and their families.

Only 11 percent of employers offered coverage for workers and for the workers' families.

Researchers say they surveyed more than 750 randomly selected employers representing the full spectrum of sizes, geographic locations and industry sectors. The results on a statewide basis have a margin of error of plus or minus 3 percentage points.

For more details, pick up Saturday's Idaho Statesman.

Have you lost your employer-sponsored health insurance, or are you an employer who has been forced to stop offering health insurance? We'd like to hear from you Friday afternoon. Please call health reporter Colleen LaMay at 377-6448 or e-mail [email protected].

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