Fear of losing health benefits keeps many workers in jobs they don’t like

One in six U.S. employees remain in jobs they don’t like because of the fear of losing health benefits.

“Approximately 158 million people, or more than half of the U.S. adult population, receive health insurance via their own employer or the employer of a household member,” according to a report from Gallup and West Health. “As such, the 16% of workers who are remaining in their jobs for the sake of their benefits will frequently extend to other individuals other than themselves, bolstering their reluctance to seek out other work. The higher levels of these sentiments among Black workers and those in lower-income households underscores the disproportionate role that employment plays in needed health coverage for some Americans.”

Related: The states with the highest (and lowest) rates of health insurance coverage

West Health and Gallup recently surveyed workers about the connection between their jobs and employer-provided heath benefits. Among the findings:

Concern varies by race and income. Overall, Black workers (21%) are more likely to say they would stay in an unwanted job for purposes of keeping their health benefits than white workers (14%), a statistically significant difference. As such, Black workers are an estimated 50% more likely to be staying in their current job for this reason than are their white counterparts. Hispanic workers (16%) are not statistically different from either of the two groups.

Workers in households earning less than $48,000 a year are nearly three times more likely to stay in an unwanted job for the health benefits than are workers living in households earning at least $120,000 per year (28% to 10%, respectively).

More than half believe health care could become unaffordable. Fifty-three percent of survey respondents are either “concerned” or “very concerned” that the cost of health care services and the cost of prescription drugs will continue to rise in the future to the point that they no longer will be able to afford them. Black and Hispanic adults have modestly elevated concerns about the rising costs of health care compared with white adults.

Most support government intervention. About three-quarters favor setting limits on prescription drug price increases, capping hospital prices in areas with few or no other hospitals from which to choose and negotiating lower prices for some high-cost drugs without lower-priced alternatives. Another 65% support placing government limits on prices charged by out-of-network care.

“In the past five years, the average insurance premium for a family of four has increased 22%, and in 2020, premiums increased more than wages,” the study concluded. “The generally high agreement with several proposals for government action designed to contain the cost of various forms of care is understandable, particularly so as those with insurance are voicing support at levels that match those without it.”