Private industry health insurance plans: employment requirements for coverage in 1974.

In 1974, approximately 28.4 million active workers participating in almost 52,000 health plans on their jobs were covered by in-hospital health insurance benefits. A survey of these plans, conducted for the Social Security Administration by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, revealed that not all workers are automatically entitled to benefits on the first day they report for work. More than three-fifths had to fulfill at least one job-related requirement before their hospital coverage was effective. The extent and variety of employment requirements in private industry are discussed here along with data that show how plans that have such requirements differ from those that do not.