Employment-based health coverage is a benefit employers offer to compete for labor. Thus, its availability and affordability are driven by labor market considerations and tend to vary with wage level (as well as hours worked and expected duration of employment). Understanding this economic reality is important for policy makers who are designing public programs to expand coverage for the uninsured. Traditionally, eligibility for such programs is based on need as measured solely by the ratio of overall family income to the federal povery guidelines by family size.