94 percent of union workers had access to medical care benefits in March 2017

Ninety-four percent of union workers had access to employer-provided medical care benefits in March 2017, compared with 67 percent of nonunion workers. Having access means employers offered the benefit, regardless of whether employees chose to participate. Seventy-six percent of union workers and 48 percent of nonunion workers participated in an employer-provided medical care plan in March 2017. That results in a take-up rate—the percentage of workers with access to a plan who participate in the plan—of 81 percent for union workers and 72 percent for nonunion workers.

Thirty-seven percent of workers whose average wages were in the lowest 25 percent had access to employer-provided medical care benefits in March 2017, compared with 93 percent of workers whose average wages were in the highest 25 percent. Twenty-three percent of workers in the lowest 25 percent and 73 percent of workers in the highest 25 percent participated in an employer-provided medical care plan, for take-up rates of 63 percent and 78 percent, respectively.

These data are from the National Compensation Survey — Benefits program and refer to civilian workers. Civilian workers include all wage and salary workers in private industry, but not workers in the federal government or the self-employed. For more information, see National Compensation Survey: Employee Benefits in the United States, March 2017. For definitions of the various terms related to employee benefits, see our glossary.