New Analysis Examines Health Insurance Rates Based on Business Age
"Snapshots: Health Care Costs," Kaiser Family Foundation: The analysis, based on data from 1997 to 2005 from the annual Insurance Component of the Medical Expenditure Panel Survey, looks at whether a small business' age has any effect on the sponsorship of employee health coverage. According to the analysis, the newer a small business is, the less likely it is to offer health benefits. Among establishments with fewer than 10 employees, 43% of companies operating for 20 or more years offered health coverage in 2005, compared with 32% of businesses operating between five and nine years and 24% of those in operation for fewer than five years. The analysis finds similar patterns for establishments with 10-24 employees and 25-99 employees and over time (Kaiser Family Foundation release, 5/6).
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