75 percent of civilian workers had access to medical care benefits in March 2024

Seventy-five percent of civilian workers had access to medical care benefits in March 2024. Forty-eight percent of workers participated in a medical care plan offered by their employer, resulting in a take-up rate of 65 percent. The take-up rate is the percent of workers with access to an employer-sponsored benefit who choose to participate in the benefit. Forty-five percent of civilian workers with an average wage in the lowest 25 percent had access to employer-sponsored medical plans in March 2024, while 95 percent of workers with an average wage in the highest 10 percent had access to such plans.

Civilian employers paid 81 percent of premiums for single medical care coverage in March 2024, while workers participating in these plans paid 19 percent. Employers paid 78 percent of premiums for workers with the lowest 25 percent of wages and 82 percent of premiums for those with the highest 10 percent of wages.

For family medical care coverage, employers paid 69 percent of premiums, while employees paid 31 percent. Employers paid 63 percent of premiums for workers with the lowest 25 percent of wages and 73 percent of premiums for workers with the highest 10 percent of wages.

These data are from the National Compensation Survey — Benefits program. For more information, see “Employee Benefits in the United States — March 2024.” We also have more charts on employee benefits. Civilian workers include all employees in private industry and state and local government. Medical care plans provide services or payments for services in a hospital or by a qualified medical care provider.