A growing number of states are enacting policies to expand access to paid family and medical leave and paid sick time. However, access to paid leave in 2022 remained roughly the same as in 2021, with access lowest among workers with less income and education and those who are Hispanic. Lack of access to paid leave to address one’s own illness or injury or that of a family member may prevent workers and their families from getting the health care they need.

WHAT WE FOUND

• According to new data from the Urban Institute’s December 2022 Well-Being and Basic Needs Survey, 70 percent of adults ages 18 to 64 who work for an employer (i.e., were not self-employed) reported having access to paid leave for the birth or adoption of a child, for their own illness or medical care, or to care for a family member with a medical condition, roughly the same share as in 2021 (69 percent).
• Roughly 15 percent of employed adults who reported not having access to paid sick or medical leave also reported having forgone needed medical care in the previous 12 months because of difficulty taking time off work, compared with 9 percent of workers who reported having access to paid sick or medical leave.
• Workers without access to paid leave were more than twice as likely to report having forgone medical care because they could not afford to take unpaid time off (12 percent versus 5 percent) or because they feared losing their job if they took paid or unpaid leave (7 percent versus 3 percent).
• Workers without access to paid sick or medical leave were significantly more likely to report not getting needed medical care for themselves or their family members because of costs.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

Policymakers who seek to expand access to health care should consider health insurance coverage reforms in tandem with job-protected paid family and medical leave. Expanding health insurance coverage alongside paid family and medical leave can help address employment, timing, and cost considerations that prevent some workers from accessing needed medical care for themselves and their family members, including children.