Medical Expenditure Panel Survey Agency for Healthcare 

Research and Quality

STATISTICAL BRIEF #210 

July 2008 

Highlights 

 In 2006, 86.9 percent of 

private sector employees 

worked where health 

insurance was offered. This 

value varied across the 10 

largest metropolitan areas, 

and in two (Washington, 

D.C. and Atlanta) of the 10 

areas, the rates were higher 

than the national average. 

 In 2006, 60.7 percent of 

private employees who 

worked where health 

insurance was offered 

enrolled. Of the 10 largest 

metropolitan areas, only one

(Los Angeles) had a higher 

than average rate of 

enrollment among those 

who worked where 

insurance was offered. 

 The average premium for 

single coverage among 

private sector employers 

who offered health 

insurance was $4,118. 

Among the 10 largest 

metropolitan areas, the 

average ranged from $3,781 

to $4,730. 

 The average private sector 

employee contribution for 

single coverage was $788. 

 The average premium for 

family coverage in 2006 

among private sector 

employers who offered 

health insurance was 

$11,381. Among the 10 

largest metropolitan areas, 

one (New York City) had an 

average higher than the 

national average. 

 The average private sector 

employee contribution for 

single coverage was $2,890.

Offer Rates, Take-Up Rates, Premiums, 

and Employee Contributions for 

Employer-Sponsored Health Insurance 

in the Private Sector for the 10 Largest 

Metropolitan Areas, 2006 

John P. Sommers, PhD and Beth Levin Crimmel, MS 

Introduction 

Employer-sponsored health insurance for current workers is one of

the primary sources of health insurance coverage in the United

States. According to data from the Insurance Component of the 

2006 Medical Expenditure Panel Survey (MEPS-IC), approximately 

99.7 million of the 114.7 million employees from the private sector 

worked in firms where the employer offered health insurance. Of 

those employees who worked where health insurance was offered, 

approximately 60.6 million were enrolled.

In recent years, premiums and employee contributions for 

employer-sponsored health insurance have risen significantly, while 

offer and enrollment rates have dropped modestly. These values for 

employer-sponsored health insurance vary considerably by 

geographic area and other factors, such as size of firm and industry. 

This Statistical Brief presents average offer and take-up rates, 

single and family premiums, and single and family employee 

contributions for private sector employers in the 10 largest 

metropolitan areas and compares these values to national averages 

for the private sector. Only those estimates with a statistically 

significant difference from the national average at the 0.05 percent 

significance level are noted in the text. 

Findings 

Among the 114.7 million private sector employees in the United 

States, 86.9 percent worked where employer-sponsored health 

insurance was offered in 2006 (figure 1). Among the 10 largest 

metropolitan areas, Washington and Atlanta had rates higher than 

the national average, 92.6 and 90.6 percent, respectively. 

Among private sector employees who worked where health 

insurance was offered, 60.7 percent enrolled (figure 2). The 

enrollment rates for nine of the 10 largest metropolitan areas did not 

1
2

differ significantly from the U.S. average. Only Los Angeles, which had a higher enrollment rate of 66.2 

percent, differed from the national average. 

 

In 2006, the average single premium in the private sector for employer-sponsored health insurance was 

$4,118 (figure 3) while the average premium for family coverage was $11,381 (figure 5). New York City 

had significantly higher than average premiums—$4,730 for single coverage and $12,744 for family 

coverage. 

In 2006, among private sector employers, the average employee contribution for single coverage was 

$788 (figure 4) and the average employee contribution for family coverage was $2,890. No area’s 

average contributions differed significantly from the U.S. costs. 

Data Source 

This Statistical Brief summarizes data from the 2006 MEPS-IC. The data are available on the MEPS Web 

site at http://www.meps.ahrq.gov/mepsweb/survey_comp/Insurance.jsp or have been produced using 

special computation runs on the confidential MEPS-IC data available at the U.S. Census Bureau. 

Definitions 

Employer 

In this Statistical Brief, an employer is defined as a private sector firm. A firm is defined as a business 

entity that controls one or more business establishments or locations. Consequently, an employer can 

have multiple work locations. 

 

Single coverage 

Single coverage is health insurance that covers the employee only. This is also known as employee-only 

coverage. 

Family coverage 

Family coverage is health insurance that covers the employee and one or more members of his/her 

immediate family (spouse and/or children as defined by the plan). For the MEPS-IC survey, family 

coverage is any coverage other than single and employee-plus-one. Some plans offer more than one rate 

for family coverage, depending on family size and composition. If more than one rate is offered, survey 

respondents are asked to report costs for a family of four. 

Metropolitan areas 

Metropolitan areas are Metropolitan Statistical Areas (MSAs) defined and published by the Office of 

Management and Budget (OMB) as of June 6, 2003. Counties included in each area can be found in the 

Appendix of OMB Bulletin No. 04-03: (http://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/bulletins/fy04/b04-03.html). 

Size and ranking of metropolitan areas was determined using the most recent U.S. Census Bureau 

ranking: (http://www.census.gov/population/www/estimates/Estimates%20pages_final.html). 

Note that the name of the central city of each MSA has been used in the text and tables for convenience 

and brevity. The areas consist of more than the central cities. For instance, Washington, D.C., consists of 

the central city plus counties in Maryland, Virginia, and West Virginia. 

About MEPS-IC 

MEPS-IC is a survey of business establishments and governments that collects information on employersponsored health insurance, such as whether insurance is offered, enrollments, types of plans, and 

premiums. The survey is conducted annually by the U.S. Census Bureau under the sponsorship of the 

Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ). The yearly response rate has averaged 78 percent 

for in-scope sample units. Approximately 4 percent of the original sample has been out-of-scope in a 

typical year. A total sample of 42,000 establishments was selected for the 2006 survey, prior to 

accounting for losses due to nonresponse and out-of-scope cases. 
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For more information on this survey, see MEPS Methodology Reports 6, 8, 10, 14, 17, and 18 on the 

MEPS Web site at http://www.meps.ahrq.gov/mepsweb/data_stats/publications.jsp and Insurance 

Component Survey Basics at http://www.meps.ahrq.gov/mepsweb/survey_comp/Insurance.jsp. 

Suggested Citation 

Sommers, J. and Crimmel, B.L., Offer Rates, Take-Up Rates, Premiums, and Employee Contributions for 

Employer-Sponsored Health Insurance in the Private Sector for the 10 Largest Metropolitan Areas, 2006. 

Statistical Brief #210. July 2008. Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, Rockville, MD, 

http://www.meps.ahrq.gov/data_files/publications/st210/stat210.pdf 

* * * 

AHRQ welcomes questions and comments from readers of this publication who are interested in 

obtaining more information about access, cost, use, financing, and quality of health care in the United 

States. We also invite you to tell us how you are using this Statistical Brief and other MEPS data and 

tools and to share suggestions on how MEPS products might be enhanced to further meet your needs. 

Please e-mail us at MEPSProjectDirector@ahrq.hhs.gov or send a letter to the address below: 

Steven B. Cohen, PhD, Director 

Center for Financing, Access, and Cost Trends 

Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality 

540 Gaither Road 

Rockville, MD 20850 
Source: Center for Financing, Access, and Cost Trends, AHRQ, Insurance Component of the Medical Expenditure Panel Survey, 2006

92.6 90.6 90.5 89.1 86.9 87.3 89.1 88.9 89.3 86.9 84.4

0

20

40

60

80

100

New York Los

Angeles

Chicago Dallas-Fort

Worth

Philadelphia Miami-Fort

Lauderdale

Houston Washington

D.C.

Atlanta Detroit National

Average

Percentage

Figure 1. Percentage of private sector employees 

who worked where health insurance was offered,

United States and 10 largest metropolitan areas, 2006

Source: Center for Financing, Access, and Cost Trends, AHRQ, Insurance Component of the Medical Expenditure Panel Survey, 2006

61.3 60.0

63.9

60.7

66.6

58.4

65.7

62.1

66.2 64.8 63.2

0

20

40

60

80

New York Los Angeles Chicago Dallas-Fort

Worth

Philadelphia Miami-Fort

Lauderdale

Houston Washington

D.C.

Atlanta Detroit National

Average

Percentage

Figure 2. Percentage of private sector employees enrolled in

health insurance in establishments that offered health insurance,

United States and 10 largest metropolitan areas, 2006

Statistical Brief #210: Offer Rates, Take-Up Rates, Premiums, and Employee Contributions for EmployerSponsored Health Insurance in the Private Sector for the 10 Largest Metropolitan Areas, 2006 

4
Source: Center for Financing, Access, and Cost Trends, AHRQ, Insurance Component of the Medical Expenditure Panel Survey, 2006

4,141

3,781

4,553

4,118 4,302

3,903

4,406

4,247 4,334

3,858

4,730

0

1,000

2,000

3,000

4,000

5,000

New York Los

Angeles

Chicago Dallas-Fort

Worth

Philadelphia Miami-Fort

Lauderdale

Houston Washington

D.C.

Atlanta Detroit National

Average

D

ollars

Figure 3. Average single premium per enrolled employee 

at private sector establishments offering health insurance,

United States and 10 largest metropolitan areas, 2006

 

Source: Center for Financing, Access, and Cost Trends, AHRQ, Insurance Component of the Medical Expenditure Panel Survey, 2006

856

780

697

788

889

684

884

830

755

843

770

0

200

400

600

800

1,000

New York Los

Angeles

Chicago Dallas-Fort

Worth

Philadelphia Miami-Fort

Lauderdale

Houston Washington

D.C.

Atlanta Detroit National

Average

D

ollars

Figure 4. Average employee contribution per enrolled employee

for single coverage at private sector establishments offering health

insurance, United States and 10 largest metropolitan areas, 2006

Statistical Brief #210: Offer Rates, Take-Up Rates, Premiums, and Employee Contributions for EmployerSponsored Health Insurance in the Private Sector for the 10 Largest Metropolitan Areas, 2006 

5
Source: Center for Financing, Access, and Cost Trends, AHRQ, Insurance Component of the Medical Expenditure Panel Survey, 2006

11,651

10,826

11,586 11,381

12,744

11,330

11,987 11,820 11,912

10,768

12,238

0

2,500

5,000

7,500

10,000

12,500

New York Los

Angeles

Chicago Dallas-Fort

Worth

Philadelphia Miami-Fort

Lauderdale

Houston Washington

D.C.

Atlanta Detroit National

Average

D

ollars

Figure 5. Average family premium per enrolled employee 

at private sector establishments offering health insurance,

United States and 10 largest metropolitan areas, 2006

Source: Center for Financing, Access, and Cost Trends, AHRQ, Insurance Component of the Medical Expenditure Panel Survey, 2006

2,917 2,856

2,305

2,890

2,687

2,991 3,049 3,080

2,481

3,450

3,153

0

500

1,000

1,500

2,000

2,500

3,000

3,500

4,000

New York Los

Angeles

Chicago Dallas-Fort

Worth

Philadelphia Miami-Fort

Lauderdale

Houston Washington

D.C.

Atlanta Detroit National

Average

D

ollars

Figure 6. Average employee contribution per enrolled employee

for family coverage at private sector establishments offering health

insurance, United States and 10 largest metropolitan areas, 2006

Statistical Brief #210: Offer Rates, Take-Up Rates, Premiums, and Employee Contributions for EmployerSponsored Health Insurance in the Private Sector for the 10 Largest Metropolitan Areas, 2006 

6