Despite a strong economy, the number of Californians with job-based health insurance declined from 2001 to 2005, underscoring the challenge faced by the governor and legislators as they strive to overhaul healthcare in the state.

According to a study scheduled to be released today by the UCLA Center for Health Policy Research, 6.5 million people in the state were uninsured for all or part of 2005.

"It seems very clear from our study that employment-based coverage, which is the foundation of our insurance for the nonelderly, is eroding out from under us," said E. Richard Brown, director of the UCLA center.

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger plans to be on campus this morning for the release of the report.

Although the percentage decline in job-based insurance may seem small — from 56.4% in 2001 to 54.3% in 2005 — it meant that 678,000 fewer working Californians had health insurance, the report said.

The decline in insurance was steeper for Californians with moderate or low incomes. For members of a family of three earning $38,000 to $48,000 a year, job-based health insurance fell from 58% to 53%, the survey found.

Paradoxically, over the same period, the proportion of uninsured Californians also declined, from 21.9% to 20%, a drop attributed to a dramatic increase in enrollment in government-funded programs. Medi-Cal, Healthy Families and county-based programs now insure nearly 1 in 3 California children.

"Adults don't have that safety net," Brown said.

Another study being released today, from the Center on Policy Initiatives, a nonprofit research and worker advocacy group based in San Diego, finds that health benefits vary widely among industries, with just 20% of hotel and restaurant workers having coverage.

Using data from the UCLA center's 2005 survey, the study determined that the lowest-paying jobs were least likely to offer health benefits. Just 28% of administrative support jobs included health insurance, and 40% of retail jobs did.

Some of those workers were able to obtain insurance coverage through a partner's or relative's employer or to buy insurance independently. But in the hospitality, administrative support, agriculture and mining industries, more than half the workforce either had no insurance at all or relied on government programs.

In the UCLA study, 80% of California workers without job-based insurance either worked for employers that didn't offer the benefit or were ineligible for the insurance offered. The remaining 20% turned down coverage, with most of them saying it was unaffordable.

The average worker had to contribute $3,000 a year to cover premiums for family coverage, up about 66% from 2001, Brown said. That's almost 10% of gross pay for a worker earning $32,000 and doesn't include deductibles and co-pays.

The survey found that 63% of uninsured Californians were U.S. citizens and 15% were noncitizens with green cards. About 1.4 million, or 22%, were undocumented immigrants.

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By Mary Engel
Times Staff Writer
Copyright 2007 Los Angeles Times