Health Insurance is holding workers back from quitting their jobs
The Great Resignation might have been even greater were it not for health insurance.
As many as one in every three workers say they would be likely to have quit their jobs by now were it not for the health insurance they receive through their company, according to a new survey.
Read More »They are therefore deciding to stay with their present employer rather than start their own business or to try to find a job that might suit them better, he adds.
Among those workers aged from 18 to 34 almost half said they would be very likely or somewhat likely to leave their positions were health insurance not a factor.
Record numbers leaving
The Great Resignation refers to record numbers of Americans who are leaving their jobs in a wave of resignations that is sweeping the country. So much so that the Bureau of Labor Statistics says the number of people resigning from their jobs hit a 20-year high in 2021.
Among the main reasons they are said to be quitting is that many have found that working from home during the pandemic has enabled them to spend time with their family, to work reasonable hours, and to escape what many see as a “rat race.”
Now they face returning to working in an office. They are reluctant to do so, particularly because of the long commuting distances and long hours that accompany it.
One way out for some has been to start their own businesses.
Would be higher
Now the survey shows that the number quitting their jobs would be much higher were health insurance not an influence on their decisions.
The lock on their jobs caused by health insurance might not only be stopping people from leaving for another position elsewhere. It also is likely stopping people from starting their own companies, the survey found.
More than a quarter of those who responded to the survey said they would be likely to become entrepreneurs were health insurance not holding them back from doing so. Thirteen percent of those who answered in that way are older than 55.
Unaware
This year’s Policygenius Health Insurance Literacy Survey also found, however, that many of the workers who are sticking with their jobs because of health insurance might be doing so out of lack of knowledge of their health insurance options.
The poll revealed that as many as two-thirds of the respondents are unaware that should they quit their jobs they can obtain personal coverage through the health insurance marketplace run by the federal government.
In addition, subsidies for health insurance plans that are bought on the state and federal exchanges have been expanded by the Biden administration, Ma of Policygenius says. These subsidies meant, for example, that it was possible from Feb. 15 to Aug. 15, 2021 to obtain coverage for $10 or less a month, according to the Department of Health and Human Services, he adds.
Some two-thirds of the respondents also said they did not realize there is no longer a penalty for failing to have health insurance. The penalty was repealed for plans that started in 2019.
Misinformation
Surveys in recent years have shown a great deal of confusion on understanding basic health insurance, Ma says.
This year’s survey, however, added another dimension. It showed the impact that misinformation through social media has had on the number of people who have avoided COVD-19 care and testing.
Many of the respondents to the poll were unable to verify six factual statements about health care policies in America.
Failure to understand the ways in which health insurance operates can be complicated, but it can have health and financial consequences, says Caitlin Donovan, spokesperson for the National Patient Advocate Foundation.
The new survey was conducted among a national sample of 1,410 Americans who are aged more than 18. Of them, 1,227 said they had health insurance when the interview was held.
