Small U.S. Businesses Struggle to Provide Health Insurance as Coverage Rates Slip

America's employer-based health insurance system is becoming unsustainable for small businesses, which form the backbone of many communities.

The share of working-age adults receiving coverage through a job has fallen from 67% in 1998 to roughly 60% today, and the cost of providing plans has risen sharply.

STAT's investigation interviewed more than 50 small-business owners, employees, benefits leaders, policy experts and insurers, finding widespread panic, despair and anger as firms struggle to afford coverage.

Many small firms are now opting to stop offering health insurance altogether, highlighting a broader erosion of the employer-based model that has long dominated coverage for people under 65.