Fewer employers help fund workers' health-care plans

Fewer employers are contributing to their workers' consumer-driven health-care plans, according to a new report from the Employee Benefit Research Institute.

The overall percent of employers making contributions dropped from 67 percent in 2008 to 63 percent in 2009, the report found.

The data revealed shifts in employer contributions depending on whether one had employee-only coverage or family coverage. Between 2006 and 2008, the percentage of workers with employee-only coverage reporting their employer gave $1,000 or more to their consumer-driven health plan account increased from 26 percent to 37 percent. This year, that dropped to 32 percent.

But among workers with family coverage, the percentage receiving a contribution of $1,000 or more from their employer jumped from 59 percent in 2008 to 73 percent in 2009.

Francine Knowles