When the Affordable Care Act was passed in 2010, it was assumed that many employers would drop workplace health insurance in response. However, a new study by the Employee Benefit Research Institute found that starting in 2015, both the percentage of employers offering health insurance and the percentage of workers eligible for such coverage began to increase.

"It should then come as no surprise that the percentage of workers and their families being covered by employment-based health insurance has been relatively steady over the long term," the report said. Among the highlights of the study:

• Between 2013 and 2021, the percentage of workers with employment-based health insurance was steadily between 71% and 73%.
• At the same time, the percentage of children with employment-based coverage held steady at between 54% and 56%.
• The percentage of non-working adults with employment-based coverage was 36% between 2013 and 2018, increased to 39% in 2019 and subsequently fell to 35% by 2021. Before 2013, the percentage of workers and their families with such insurance had been declining.

"The steadiness in the percentage of workers with employment-based health insurance may be due to the strengthening economy, lower unemployment rates and relatively low premium increases" the report said.