Employer-Provided Health Insurance Coverage: A Comparison of Employed Native-born and Immigrant Americans

This research examined differences in employer-based health insurance coverage among employed native-born Americans and immigrants using cross-sectional and panel data from the National Longitudinal Survey, cohort 1979 (NLSY79). Compared with native-born Americans, immigrants were 10.5% less likely to have employer-based health insurance when controlling for other social and economic characteristics. Income and educational attainment of immigrants along with length of stay were predictors of employer-based coverage. Occupational characteristics such as job tenure, full-time employment, and union membership were positively associated with having employer-based health insurance coverage.