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Posted to Web: February 01, 2003

Permanent Link: http://www.urban.org/url.cfm?ID=1000730

Using the National Survey of America's Families (NSAF) in 1997 and 1999, this paper investigates the sources behind variation in employer-sponsored health insurance (ESI) across states. We find that demographics and family characteristics (such as race/ethnicity and citizenship status), individual employment characteristics (such as firm size, labor force attachment), and local labor market characteristics (such as unionization) consistently explain the relative position of all of the states with either high or low rates of ESI coverage. Income plays a lesser role in explaining the state variation, but is still an important determinant, especially among states whose average income deviates substantially from the national average. (Health Affairs 22(1): 241–51, January/February 2003.)

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