By Kenny Macdonald
Buffalo, NY – Researchers at Univera Healthcare have found a slow, steady decline of employer-provided health coverage in New York, and a fast-growing dependence on government health programs such as Medicaid.
The study was commissioned by the New York Business Council. The Council's director of government affairs, Eliot Shaw, says the high cost of premiums, especially for small businesses, is one reason why companies are dropping coverage.
"I think it's a function of the price of the premium," Shaw said. "I think if you're looking at $10,000 per employee, you reach a point at which you can say to your workforce that it's just too expensive."
The young and employed are most likely to be without coverage because of their reluctance to pay for a plan they don't think they'll need.