A lot of readers gave us feedback on yesterday’s lead item about how millions of working Americans lose or change their employer health plans every month, usually through quitting a job or getting fired/laid off.
One point that came up several times: Employees who don’t leave their jobs sometimes have to switch to new health plans, Bob reports.
- Larry Levitt of the Kaiser Family Foundation reminded us that 61% of companies that offer health benefits shopped around for new employee plans in 2018, and a quarter of them changed insurers, according to KFF’s annual employer survey.
- Changing or cutting health benefits for current employees is no small matter — doing so was the driving force behind teachers striking in West Virginia last year.
The bottom line: Employer coverage changes all the time, both when people leave their jobs and when companies decide to tinker with their benefits packages.
HENRY KOTULA 