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STATISTICAL BRIEF #398:
Premiums and Employee Contributions for Employer-Sponsored Health Insurance: Private versus Public Sector, 2011

January 2013

Karen E. Davis, MA

Highlights

In 2011, the average public (State/local government) sector premiums were $6,157 for single coverage, $11,373 for employee-plus-one coverage, and $15,878 for family coverage, with wide variations across geographic areas.
Within both the public and private sectors, the highest average health insurance premiums in 2011 for both single and family coverage were for public sector employees in the New England division ($7,386 and $18,481, respectively).
Within both the public and private sectors, the lowest average health insurance premiums in 2011 for single coverage ($4,877) were for private sector employees in the East South Central division and for family coverage ($13,673) for public sector employees in the West South Central division.

Introduction

Employer-sponsored health insurance for current workers is one of the primary sources of health insurance coverage in the United States. According to data from the Insurance Component of the 2011 Medical Expenditure Panel Survey (MEPS-IC), approximately 111.6 million of the 127.7 million civilian employees worked where the employer offered health insurance. U.S. civilian employees include those employed in the private sector and in the public sector (State and local, but not federal employees). Of those employees who worked where health insurance was offered, approximately 33.3 million were enrolled in single coverage, 12.7 million were enrolled in employee-plus-one coverage, and 21.6 million were enrolled in family coverage (data not shown).

This Statistical Brief presents estimates, using 2011 MEPS-IC data, of average premiums and employee contributions for single, employee-plus-one, and family coverage. Estimates are for public and private sector employees who worked for entities that offered health insurance, and for employees who enrolled in offered health insurance plans. Estimates by census geographic division are also presented for average premiums and employee contributions for single and family coverage for enrollees in both the public and private sectors. Only those estimates that had a statistically significant difference from the national average at the 0.05 percent significance level are noted in the text.

Findings

Premiums in 2011 (figure 1)
Among the 127.7 million civilian employees who worked for private or public sector employers in 2011, 87.4 percent worked where the employer offered health insurance (estimate not shown in figures). The average public sector premiums in 2011 were $6,157 for single coverage, $11,373 for employee-plus-one coverage, and $15,878 for family coverage (figure 1). The average private sector premiums in 2011 were $5,222 for single coverage, $10,329 for employee-plus-one coverage, and $15,022 for family coverage.

Employee contributions in 2011 (figure 2)
Public sector employees contributed an average of $631 for single coverage, $2,262 for employee-plus-one coverage, and $2,807 for family coverage to their health insurance premiums in 2011 (figure 2).

Private sector employees contributed an average of $1,090 for single coverage, $2,736 for employee-plus-one coverage, and $3,962 for family coverage to their health insurance premiums in 2011.

Single and family coverage variations by census geographic division in 2011 (figures 3–6)
In 2011, average annual premiums and employee contributions varied substantially across both public and private sector employers and by geographic divisions as summarized below:

Average annual health insurance premiums per enrolled civilian employee with single coverage ranged from $4,877 for private sector employees in East South Central to $7,386 for public sector employees in New England in 2011 (figure 3).
Average employee contributions per enrolled civilian employee with single coverage ranged from $354 for public sector employees in West North Central to $1,328 for private sector employees in New England in 2011 (figure 4).
Average annual health insurance premiums per enrolled civilian employee with family coverage ranged from $13,673 for public sector employees in West South Central to $18,481 for public sector employees in New England in 2011 (figure 5).
Average employee contributions per enrolled civilian employee with family coverage ranged from $1,390 for public sector employees in Middle Atlantic to $4,786 for public sector employees in West South Central in 2011 (figure 6).

Data Source

This Statistical Brief summarizes data from the 2011 MEPS-IC. The data are available on the MEPS Web site at http://www.meps.ahrq.gov/mepsweb/survey_comp/Insurance.jsp or have been produced using special computation runs on the confidential MEPS-IC data available at the U.S. Census Bureau.

Definitions

States were grouped into nine census divisions as follows:

New England: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, Vermont
Middle Atlantic: New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania
East North Central: Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Ohio, Wisconsin
West North Central: Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota
South Atlantic: Delaware, District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Maryland, North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia, West Virginia
East South Central: Alabama, Kentucky, Mississippi, Tennessee
West South Central: Arkansas, Louisiana, Oklahoma, Texas
Mountain: Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah, Wyoming
Pacific: Alaska, California, Hawaii, Oregon, Washington

Civilian
Civilian employees include those employed in the private sector and in the public (State/local government) sector. Federal government employees, postal workers, military, and unincorporated self-employed individuals with no employees are not included.

Employee-plus-one coverage
Health insurance that covers the employee and one other family member at a lower premium level than family coverage. For the MEPS-IC survey, if premiums are different for employee-plus-spouse and employee-plus-child coverage, the costs for employee-plus-child coverage are collected.

Family coverage
Health insurance that covers the employee and one or more members of his/her immediate family (spouse and/or children as defined by the plan). For the MEPS-IC survey, "family coverage" is any coverage other than single and employee-plus-one. Some plans offer more than one rate for family coverage, depending on family size and composition. If more than one rate is offered, survey respondents are asked to report costs for a family of four.

Premium
Agreed upon fees paid for coverage of medical benefits for a defined benefit period. Premiums can be paid by employers, unions, employees, or split between the insured individual and the plan sponsor.

Single coverage
Health insurance that covers the employee only. This is also known as employee-only coverage.

About MEPS-IC

The MEPS-IC is a survey of business establishments and governments that collects information on employer-sponsored health insurance, such as whether insurance is offered, enrollments, types of plans, and premiums. The survey is conducted annually by the U.S. Census Bureau under the sponsorship of the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ). A total sample of approximately 42,000 private-sector establishments was selected for the 2011 survey; with 6.4 percent of the sample determined to be out-of-scope during the data collection process. The response rate for the private sector was 81.7 percent of the remaining in-scope sample units. For State and local governments, a sample of approximately 3,100 governmental units was selected with a response rate of 94.2 percent.

For more information on this survey, see MEPS Methodology Reports 6, 8, 10, 14, 17, and 18 and the MEPS-IC Technical Notes and Survey Documentation, which are available on the MEPS Web site (http://www.meps.ahrq.gov).

Suggested Citation

Davis, K. Premiums and Employee Contributions for Employer-Sponsored Health Insurance: Private versus Public Sector, 2011. Statistical Brief #398. January 2013. Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, Rockville, MD. http://www.meps.ahrq.gov/mepsweb/data_files/publications/st398/stat398.shtml

* * * AHRQ welcomes questions and comments from readers of this publication who are interested in obtaining more information about access, cost, use, financing, and quality of health care in the United States. We also invite you to tell us how you are using this Statistical Brief and other MEPS data and tools and to share suggestions on how MEPS products might be enhanced to further meet your needs. Please e-mail us at MEPSProjectDirector@ahrq.hhs.gov or send a letter to the address below:

Steve B. Cohen, PhD, Director
Center for Financing, Access, and Cost Trends
Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality
540 Gaither Road
Rockville, MD 20850

Figure data for accessible table follows the image

	Private	Public
Figure 1. Average premium per enrolled employee: Private versus public sector, by type of coverage, 2011
Single	$5,222	$6,157
Employee-plus-one	$10,329	$11,373
Family	$15,022	$15,878
Source: Center for Financing, Access, and Cost Trends, AHRQ, Insurance Component of the Medical Expenditure Panel Survey, 2011

	Private	Public
Figure 2. Average total employee contribution per enrolled employee: Private versus public sector, by type of coverage, 2011
Single	$1,090	$631
Employee-plus-one	$2,736	$2,262
Family	$3,962	$2,807
Source: Center for Financing, Access, and Cost Trends, AHRQ, Insurance Component of the Medical Expenditure Panel Survey, 2011

	Private (Average Dollars)	Public (Average Dollars)
Figure 3. Average premium per enrolled employee for single coverage: Private and public* sectors, by census division, 2011
New England	5,738	7,386
Middle Atlantic	5,539	6,550
East North Central	5,204	6,835
West North Central	5,106	5,946
South Atlantic	5,201	6,047
East South Central	4,877	5,594
West South Central	5,027	5,101
Mountain	4,925	5,990
Pacific	5,225	7,082
*Public sector excludes federal government employees Source: Center for Financing, Access, and Cost Trends, AHRQ, Insurance Component of the Medical Expenditure Panel Survey, 2011

	Private (Average Dollars)	Public (Average Dollars)
Figure 4. Average employee contribution per enrolled employee for single coverage: Private and public* sectors, by census division, 2011
New England	1,328	1,294
Middle Atlantic	1,130	485
East North Central	1,130	753
West North Central	1,088	354
South Atlantic	1,145	640
East South Central	1,067	587
West South Central	1,027	601
Mountain	1,057	527
Pacific	934	745
*Public sector excludes federal government employees Source: Center for Financing, Access, and Cost Trends, AHRQ, Insurance Component of the Medical Expenditure Panel Survey, 2011

	Private (Average Dollars)	Public (Average Dollars)
Figure 5. Average premium per enrolled employee for family coverage: Private and public* sectors, by census division, 2011
New England	16,599	18,481
Middle Atlantic	15,844	16,569
East North Central	14,799	17,116
West North Central	14,383	15,315
South Atlantic	14,769	15,253
East South Central	13,720	13,975
West South Central	14,445	13,673
Mountain	14,391	15,037
Pacific	15,506	15,238
*Public sector excludes federal government employees Source: Center for Financing, Access, and Cost Trends, AHRQ, Insurance Component of the Medical Expenditure Panel Survey, 2011

	Private (Average Dollars)	Public (Average Dollars)
Figure 6. Average employee contribution per enrolled employee for family coverage: Private and public* sectors, by census division, 2011
New England	4,170	3,558
Middle Atlantic	3,700	1,390
East North Central	3,471	2,327
West North Central	3,925	3,028
South Atlantic	4,447	3,918
East South Central	3,820	3,385
West South Central	4,285	4,786
Mountain	4,354	3,724
Pacific	3,867	2,416
*Public sector excludes federal government employees Source: Center for Financing, Access, and Cost Trends, AHRQ, Insurance Component of the Medical Expenditure Panel Survey, 2011

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STATISTICAL BRIEF #398: Premiums and Employee Contributions for Employer-Sponsored Health Insurance: Private versus Public Sector, 2011