Issue Briefs

Federal health care reform legislation and the desire of employers to limit their health insurance costs are likely to fuel interest in so-called “defined contribution” health benefits and private health insurance exchanges, according to a new report by EBRI. EBRI Issue Brief Jul 19, 2012 24 pages

As more American senior citizens are entering nursing homes they face the likelihood that their household wealth will be quickly depleted, according to new research by EBRI. EBRI Issue Brief Jun 12, 2012 20 pages

Most Americans get their health coverage through their jobs, but new research from EBRI shows that fewer workers have access to this benefit. EBRI Issue Brief Apr 24, 2012 36 pages

A detailed look confirms that older Americans (50 or above) spend less in retirement, and that home-related expenses remain the top spending category. But health costs are the second-biggest expense for older Americans, and data show that demographic sub-groups such as singles, blacks, and high school dropouts are outspending their resources in retirement, according to a new report by the nonpartisan Employee Benefit Research Institute (EBRI). EBRI Issue Brief Feb 14, 2012 28 pages

Account-based health plans continued to grow in 2011, increasing to $12.4 billion in assets among 8.4 million accounts, according to the latest survey by EBRI and Mathew Greenwald & Associates. That’s up more than 55 percent in the number of accounts and almost 70 percent in assets since 2010. EBRI Issue Brief Jan 12, 2012 32 pages

Most Americans who have health insurance still get it through their jobs, but employment-based health coverage continues to decline, according to a new report from EBRI. While employment-based health coverage is still the dominant source of health insurance in the United States, it has been steadily shrinking since 1994. EBRI Issue Brief Sep 26, 2011 36 pages

A new analysis from EBRI finds that workers may prefer to enter insurance exchanges over keeping employment-based health coverage if the tax treatment for health benefits through work is eliminated or significantly cut back as part of the federal debt-reduction effort. EBRI Issue Brief Jul 7, 2011 24 pages

In yet another measure of damage from the recent economic recession, new data from EBRI show that 2009 marked both the sharpest one-year decline in employment-based health coverage for working-age Americans, and also the first time in recent history that less than 60 percent of individuals under age 65 had health benefits through their job. EBRI Issue Brief Apr 27, 2011 20 pages

The number of health savings accounts (HSAs) and health reimbursement arrangements (HRAs) increased to 5.7 million in 2010, according to a new report by EBRI. Assets in these account-based health plans increased to $7.7 billion in 2010. EBRI Issue Brief Jan 11, 2011 28 pages

The ranks of people enrolled in either a consumer-driven health plan (CDHP) or a high-deductible health plan (HDHP) reached 22 million in 2010, according to a new report by EBRI. Participation in these account-based health care plans is low, but continues to grow, EBRI finds in its sixth annual Consumer Engagement in Health Care Survey. EBRI Issue Brief Dec 2, 2010 44 pages