Fewer Californians covered by employer-sponsored insurance

A new report shows that fewer Californians are receiving health insurance through their employers.

The report was released Thursday by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. It found the number of Californians receiving employer-sponsored insurance dropped 8.4 percent over the past decade.

In 2000, 18.9 million people, or 62 percent of California’s non-elderly population, had employer-sponsored health insurance. By 2011, that had dropped to 17.6 million Californians, or 53 percent of the state’s non-elderly population.

The drop mirrors a national decline. The data showed that just 60 percent of non-elderly Americans received coverage through a job in 2011. That’s 11.5 million fewer people than in 2000.

Meanwhile, the cost of health insurance has been rising. The average employer-sponsored insurance premium for a family has more than doubled from $6,033 to $14,828.

Those aged 65 and older are eligible to receive Medicare.