We have shown that the sharp declines in insurance coverage
among workers from 1979 to 1995 can be accounted for almost entirely
by the fact that per capita health care spending increased
much more rapidly than income over this period. Real income per
worker in 1995 was virtually the same as in 1979. Thus, almost all of
the decline in coverage can be attributed to growth in per capita
health care spending. More workers were uninsured in 1995 than in
1979 because rising health care expenditures made insurance unaffordable
for a growing number of workers.