Only 22% of Americas earning the lowest ten percent of wages
are offered medical benefits by their employer, according to a new
report by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. This compares with 93% of the top
ten percent of earners who are offered medical benefits at work. Unfortunately,
the lowest wage workers also pay more for their benefits and employers pay
less. Workers with wages in the lowest ten percent pay almost $125 more per
month for family coverage than workers with wages in the top ten percent. Not
surprisingly, even the lower wage workers who are offered benefits are less
likely to accept them. Only 11% of workers with wages in lowest ten percent of
Americans participate in employer-sponsored coverage, compared to 72% of those
in the highest ten percent of wages. Employer offers of dental and vision
benefits are lower than medical benefits among all workers, but the disparity
between high and low wage earners is also reflected there. Low wage workers are
also less likely to be offered retirement, paid leave, paid vacation, and paid
holiday benefits, according
to the BLS.
