US survey finds fear of losing health insurance, keeps 1 in 6 workers in their jobs

According to a new West Health-Gallup survey of more than 3,800 U.S. adults, one out of every six adult workers (16%) in the USA are staying in jobs they might otherwise leave out of fear of losing their employer-sponsored health insurance.

The survey finds the fear is even more pronounced among Black workers, who are 50% more likely to remain in an unwanted job than their White and Hispanic counterparts (21% to 14% and 16%, respectively).

But the most likely to stay in a job they would rather leave are those workers in households earning less than USD 48,000 a year – roughly 3 in 10 (28%) say they will not leave and risk losing their health benefits. Workers in lower-income households are nearly three times more likely to stay in an unwanted job than are workers living in households earning at least USD 120,000 per year.

According to a report by the Congressional Research Service, 37% of USA households earned less than USD 50,000 in 2019. Approximately 158 million people receive health insurance via their own employer or via the employer of a household member.

Tim Lash, Chief Strategy Officer, West Health, remarked, “Healthcare costs have become so high that many Americans are unwilling to risk any disruption in their coverage even if that means higher and higher premiums and deductibles and sticking with a job they may not like.”

“Americans are increasingly concerned that they will get priced out of the U.S. healthcare system and are struggling to hang on in any way they can,” he further added.