New Report, Recommendations to Improve Insurance for 158 Million Americans

Washington, DC – Employer-sponsored insurance remains the nation’s largest source of health coverage, with over 158 million non-elderly Americans receiving benefits through their employer in 2019. But as U.S. health care costs become more untenable each year, employers are finding it harder—and more costly—to provide health plans that meet their employees’ needs.  

The Bipartisan Policy Center’s Health Program released a report this morning to help guide a necessary and overdue discussion on the future of employer-sponsored insurance. The report, Improving and Strengthening Employer-Sponsored Insurance, contains recommendations for policymakers focused on four areas:  

• Increasing transparency in the health care system;  
• Empowering employers with payment and pricing tools;  
• Addressing market power dynamics; and  
• Providing other options for health insurance affordability.  

While there have been changes to the health care system since the Affordable Care Act in 2010, more must be done to help contain health care costs. Policymakers have an opportunity to improve employer-sponsored insurance so employers can offer more affordable, comprehensive coverage to their employees. As the report concludes, “Improving and strengthening the current employer-sponsored insurance system is the most politically viable approach to improving health outcomes and controlling health care cost growth.”

Read the report.

Join BPC’s Health Program later this afternoon for an event discussing the report’s recommendations. Watch here.