Employer-sponsored health insurance is not adequately covering all health

Many Americans, particularly women, are having difficulty paying for their required health care services — especially dental and mental health care needs — despite having health insurance through their employers.

That’s according to a recent report published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA).

“Many Americans get their health insurance coverage through their employers, but the health insurance plans offered to workers provide lower benefits than in the past,” José A. Pagán, professor and chair of the Department of Public Health Policy and Management at the NYU School of Global Public Health, told Fox News Digital in an interview.

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He is co-author of the new paper published in JAMA.

“There is a tremendous amount of waste in the system and those costs are being transferred to everyday American workers,” said Dr. Marty Makary, a Fox News medical contributor and professor of health policy and management at Johns Hopkins School of Public Health in Baltimore, Maryland.

A new study published in JAMA found that some 61% of working-age Americans in 2019 obtained health insurance coverage through their employers, according to the study’s press release.
(iStock)

Some 61% of working-age Americans in 2019 obtained health insurance coverage through their employers, according to the study’s press release.

Out-of-pocket health care expenses continue to increase.

The Affordable Care Act improved coverage in employer-sponsored insurance by including coverage for maternity care, helping uninsured young adults have coverage though their parents’ coverage, and eliminating copays and deductibles for preventive services, the release added.

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But out-of-pocket expenses continue to increase.

More women skipped medical care 

The researchers analyzed data in the National Health Interview Survey. 

It’s a nationally representative annual survey conducted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), per the press release. 

A young pregnant woman visits with her doctor. For a new study, researchers evaluated over 238,000 adults ages 19-64 who obtained health care coverage through an employer or union from 2000 to 2020.
(iStock)

The researchers evaluated over 238,000 adults between the ages of 19 to 64 who obtained health care coverage through an employer or union from 2000 to 2020.

The study found that approximately 6% of U.S. women who had employer-sponsored insurance skipped medical care that they needed in the past year due to costs in 2020 — which was double the percentage of 3% in the year 2000.

Fewer men noted skipping required medical care because of affordability: That number was just 3% in 2020 compared to 2% in 2000.

Many dental, mental health services are unaffordable

Mental health and dental services were especially unaffordable for a subset of Americans, especially for women.

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The researchers also found that the number women who were unable to afford mental health care…