Employer-based health insurance is in decline. While the number and percentage of Americans covered by employer-based health insurance is falling, health care costs are growing at an unsustainable rate. Individuals who lose their jobs in today's fragile economy will likely see their employer-sponsored health insurance disappear. For a country that spends significantly more of its GDP on health care than any other developed nation, this situation is simply unacceptable. Merely extending coverage under the current system will not solve the problem.
In its 2007 report, Quality, Affordable Health Care for All, Moving Beyond the Employer-Based Health-Insurance System CED addresses the underlying problems with our current employer-based health-insurance system. The report recommends a market-based universal health-insurance system that allows consumer choice of a health plan. A systemic restructuring of the health-insurance system, with sharpened incentives for cost-conscious behavior on the parts of both individuals and providers, could reduce both the level and the rate of growth of costs while improving quality.
Since the release of the 2007 report CED has launched a rigorous outreach effort to engage business and Congressional leaders on this key issue. With the generous support of the Peter G. Peterson Foundation, CED is continuing these efforts by building partnerships such as the Better Health Care Together Coalition of which CED is a proud member, and by traveling around the country and discussing the issue with key stakeholders.
CED, the Committee for Economic Development is an independent, nonpartisan organization for business and education leaders dedicated to policy research on the major economic and social issues of our time and the implementation of its recommendations by the public and private sectors.
