93% of Employees Satisfied with Employer Sponsored Health Insurance

The majority of Americans are satisfied with their employer-sponsored health insurance and cited it as the most important benefit an employer can offer, according to a poll conducted by Seven Letter Insight for the Protecting Americans’ Coverage Together (PACT) campaign.

The poll surveyed 2,334 individuals with employer-sponsored health plans between November 14 and November 19, 2022.

Employer-sponsored health insurance was the most desired source of coverage, with 89 percent of respondents preferring health plans provided by an employer over coverage through other means, such as government plans.

Around three-quarters (76 percent) of employees said that the quality of their employer-sponsored plan was better than the quality of plans offered on the open market, while 83 percent thought their plan was more affordable. In addition, most respondents (95 percent) agreed that receiving coverage through employers was more convenient than looking for plans in the open market.

Overall satisfaction with employer-sponsored coverage was also high. Most respondents (93 percent) said they were satisfied with their insurance, with 54 percent saying they were highly satisfied. Eighty-seven percent agreed that their plans were affordable, and 73 percent thought their insurance was worth what they paid.

When respondents were asked to describe their employer-sponsored coverage, affordable, high-quality, and comprehensive were the top descriptions, the survey noted.

Respondents saw health insurance as the most important benefit an employer can offer. Almost all employees reported viewing their health insurance as extremely important (83 percent) or very important (13 percent).

Health insurance ranked higher than paid vacation or sick leave, retirement savings plans, and dental insurance in terms of importance.

Health insurance was also the benefit most important to respondents if they were looking for a new job. More than half (52 percent) of employees said they would not accept a new job offer that did not provide health insurance.

“Employees value their employer-sponsored health coverage, and they believe it is fundamentally important for employers to offer it,” Katie Mahoney, vice president of health policy at the US Chamber of Commerce, said in the press release. “ESI is working for the people with access to it, and the goal of policymakers should be to strengthen and bolster the system to help more people.”

Nearly all respondents agreed that “a good company to work for provides quality health coverage to their employees” and “quality health coverage is an important way for companies to retain their valued employees.”

While employer-sponsored health insurance is a top priority for employees, rising costs have made it difficult for employers to meet expectations.

According to an eHealth survey, almost three in four employees thought employers prioritized their own needs when selecting health plan options for workers. Similarly, 60 percent of employees said their health plan choices were not aligned with their personal needs. Furthermore, over half of employees (57 percent) were frustrated with their limited employer-sponsored health plan choices.

Employer-sponsored health plan enrollment declined by 5 percent during the first 16 months of the COVID-19 pandemic, separate data found. Researchers attributed this decrease to employment losses and the pandemic’s impact on small businesses.