The downturn of the UK economy has forced a number of employers to make strong decisions as a bid to keep their businesses running smoothly and avoid failure.

With more people being made redundant as a result of firms not being able to afford to pay them as an impact of the economic crisis, the number of Brits losing their employer health insurance is growing.

And to make matters worse, there has been an increase in the number of businesses that are cutting or excluding health insurance out of their employee benefits package for those have not been made redundant.

Slash in employer health insurance

A survey called Discovery Small Business Watch found that 85 per cent of businesses are removing health insurance from their employer benefits compared to 77 per cent last year and 74 in 2007.

It found that over a half of businesses that were surveyed admitted that they were finding it “difficult” in “obtaining affordable healthcare.”

The report stated that: "a third of small business owners say health care costs have a major impact on their ability to grow their business: 69 percent say that obtaining affordable health care for themselves and their employees is 'very' or 'somewhat' difficult ..."

More strain for the NHS

With the falling number of those who have health insurance, the National Health Service (NHS) is expecting to see its patient figures soar incredibly, placing the NHS at a great strain on its services.

The Department of Health officials has already reported a great number of GP referrals to the NHS.

According to a spokesperson for the Department of Health, number of new NHS patients will increase throughout the year as a majority of people will not be using the service “immediately.”

He said: "The number has gone up in the last few months. Some of it appears to be attributable to patients switching from private healthcare to the NHS. Ministers want to see how much of an impact this will have.

Just because you stop having private healthcare doesn’t mean you will be using the NHS immediately. You have to be ill first. So it will take time for the full picture to emerge. But the NHS is in good shape, in surplus and will be able to cope."

US employer health insurance

Meanwhile, in the US, nearly two million jobs have been lost within the past year along with the number of people losing their employer health insurance benefits.

With the United States having the most expensive healthcare system in the world, millions of Americans cannot afford healthcare.

The federal Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act (COBRA) offers health insurance benefits to those who lose their jobs.

However, customers would need to pay higher insurance premiums than usual.

Walter H. Rohr, president of IPG Employee Benefits said: “COBRA is a wonderful option if you can afford it.”

Yet with the growing number of job losses and increase in living costs, a number of Americans cannot afford to pay for the insurance.

Americas House Democrats had recently introduced a new approach to help the unemployed retrieve health benefits where the costs would be payed for by the government.