  
	
  
Small Employers and Their Health Benefits, 1988-1996:
An Awkward Adolescence
September/October 1997 
Health Affairs, vol.16, no.5 (September/October 1997): 103-110 
 Jon R. Gabel, Paul B. Ginsburg, Kelly A. Hunt 
 mall employers are less likely to offer insurance, and their
    employees are less likely to accept it. Analysis of the period 1988 to 1996 reveals trends
    that may explain some of the backlash against managed care - which now has a dominant
    share of the small-employer market. Choice of plan type has increased at small firms, but
    choice of medical providers has decreased. Premiums are about the same for large and small
    firms, but benefits are lower and deductibles higher for small employers. Moreover,
    employees in small firms pay a larger portion of the premium, especially in managed care
    plans as compared to conventional plans.  
 Free access to this article is available at the Health 
  Affairs Web site. 
 |