In general, there are no state or federal laws that require private U.S. employers to initially offer health insurance benefits to any employees at all. However, it is common practice, especially among larger employers, to offer health insurance benefits, especially as a means to attract loyal workers during tight labor markets.
Many employers offer health benefits only to full-time employees.
The number of hours an employee must work each week to qualify as a full-timer depends, again, on the individual employer. More generous employers might offer benefits to those working just 25 or so hours a week, however. According to the Health Insurance Association of America , an industry trade group, nearly 152 million Americans are covered under employer-sponsored health plans. Still, a large percentage of workers do not have employer-sponsored insurance. According to the philanthropic Commonwealth Fund , the number of uninsured workers is expected to reach 30 million, or 63 percent of the uninsured population, by 2005.